UK's aluminium packaging recycling rate rises by 4% in 2011

Alupro has also confirmed that the country achieved 2011 recycling rate of 60% for drinks cans, which represents an increase of more than 6% compared to 2010, which is despite continued growth in drinks can sale and an increase in the amount of aluminium packaging on the market.

Alupro executive director Rick Hindley said the increase follows a period of significant activity and investment to boost recycling participation and capture rates for aluminium and all metal packaging.

"Industry funded programmes such as Every Can Counts, Aerofoil and most recently MetalMatters, have not only increased capture rates for drinks cans away from the home and kerbside recycling rates for other metal packaging, they are also delivering a real shift in consumer behaviour leading to increased capture rates for all materials," Hindley added.

The Aerofoil campaign helped many local authorities to expand their kerbside collections, at little or no additional cost, at a time when local authority budgets have been substantially reduced.

According to Alupro, 98 local authorities covering 5.8 million households, in total, expanded their collection systems to include foil, aerosols or both materials.

The MetalMatters program, developed and funded by the metal packaging industry, reprocessors and fillers helps local authorities and their waste collection partners to promote household metal packaging recycling.

Supported by the Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP), the program is managed on behalf of its funding partners by Alupro.