'MetalMatters' campaign in Powys highlights the benefits of recycling aluminium cans & foils

Powys County Council has launched a new campaign to boost kerbside recycling rates by encouraging households to recycle their metal packaging. This includes items such as food and drink cans, aluminium foil and trays, empty aerosols, and metal screw tops.

The 'MetalMatters' programme, led by the Aluminium Packaging Recycling Organisation (Alupro), aims to spread awareness about the benefits of metal recycling through targeted social media and digital messaging, school visits, and community outreach initiatives. Starting in June, the six-week campaign aims to engage with the majority of Powys' 67,000+ households. Since its inception in 2012, over 121 local authorities have implemented MetalMatters, leading to improved recycling rates.

As per AL Circle’s report, titled ‘Aluminium Foil and its End Uses - Current Trends and Forecast’, global aluminium foil usage increased from 5.3 million tonnes in 2018 to an estimated 6.1 million tonnes in 2023. To know what the forecast says, get your hands on the ‘Aluminium Foil and its End uses - Current Trends and Forecast’ report.

Tom Giddings, executive director of Alupro, added, "For more than a decade, our MetalMatters programme has been educating the public about the benefits and importance of recycling metal packaging. We're confident that introducing this campaign will help drive an increase in recycling rates and households taking positive action across Powys. For us, the most important message is that metal is infinitely recyclable, meaning the quality and properties of the metal will be unchanged during the recycling process. Making a few small changes can add up to a big environmental impact."

MetalMatters, funded by the metal packaging industry, focuses on educating households about the benefits of recycling metal packaging and motivating them to participate. This initiative is tailored to enhance kerbside recycling efforts and can be implemented by local authorities on a regional scale, by specific collection routes, or through targeted demographic campaigns.

"We know that the vast majority of people here in Powys are great at recycling, but together, we can all make the effort to do more. MetalMatters allows us to engage with our residents and encourage them to think about their recycling habits and understand how best to correctly recycle their household metal packaging, such as food and drink cans, foil trays, kitchen foil, empty aerosols, and metal bottle tops and jar lids. When we consider that for every recycled aluminium can we save enough energy to run a TV for three hours, we can all make a huge difference by recycling as much of our waste as possible,” said Matt Perry, Powys County Council's Chief Officer – Place.