Recycling metal really matters

A major communications campaign has been launched encouraging residents across south London to recycle more metal packaging.

The six-week ‘MetalMatters’ campaign will remind people that every piece of metal packaging put out for recycling will be used again and again for years to come. And every time it’s recycled it saves energy, cuts carbon emissions – and cuts costs to taxpayers, as recycling is far cheaper than disposal in landfill.

The campaign is being delivered through the South London Waste Partnership – a group of four councils (Croydon, Kingston, Merton and Sutton) that are working together to provide improved waste management services to local people.

At heart of the campaign will be two leaflets that will be delivered six weeks apart to 365,000 households across the Partnership region.  These leaflets will be supported with various outdoor advertising including buses, trams and collection vehicles.

The cost of running the campaign is being met by Recycle for London, Viridor (the company that provides recycling, composting and residual waste treatment services to the Partnership) and a partnership made up of organisations and businesses from the metal packaging and recycling industry; it is being project managed on their behalf by Alupro (the Aluminium Packaging Recycling Organisation).

Councillor Derek Osbourne, Chair of the South London Waste Partnership Joint Committee, said:

“The average household uses around 600 food and drink cans, 280 foil trays, 27 aerosols and over 100 metres of household foil every year. Although all these items can be recycled, statistics show that less than half are being recovered, meaning valuable materials are being lost to landfill.

“Hopefully the MetalMatters campaign will encourage people to go that extra mile and recycle all of their metal packaging.  The campaign has had great success in other parts of the country, but this is this first time it will be run anywhere in London.  I would like to thank Recycle for London, Viridor and Alupro for their support in delivering such an ambitious campaign.”

Rick Hindley, Executive Director of Alupro, the organisation that manages the MetalMatters programme, added:

“Through MetalMatters, residents have the opportunity to make a difference and help prevent valuable materials going to landfill.  Metal is endlessly recyclable without any deterioration in quality.  The empty aerosol or food tin you might have at home can be transformed into a wide array of items.”

Viridor’s Regional Manager, Mike Stafford, said:

“I am delighted that Viridor is able to support the MetalMatters campaign.  Supporting initiatives like this is at the core of our business and I look forward to seeing more metal packaging arriving at our facilities for recycling in the months to come.”

Visit the MetalMatters pages for more details.

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