Eat, Drink, be Merry and Recycle!

Dreaming of a green Christmas? Recycling aluminium packaging is a simple way to make a positive difference this Christmas.

The Aluminium Packaging Recycling Organisation (Alupro) has launched a range of free resources to help local authorities encourage residents to recycle aluminium packaging over Christmas. It’s surprising how many of our festive treats come packaged in aluminium. Even turkeys are sold in aluminium trays, and of course there’s the 175 million mince pies we’ll be munching our way through… but what happens to the packaging?

“Alupro is reminding everyone to put drinks cans, pie cases, wrapping foil and turkey trays in their recycling,” said Rick Hindley, Executive Director of Alupro. “Since aluminium can be endlessly recycled, it can be remade into a vast range of products and back on our shelves within weeks.”

Alupro has produced a video to promote the recycling of aluminium during the festive season: Watch it here:

• Not sure what’s made of aluminium?
• Aerosol cans – after sprucing the house up for visitors, drop those empty spray cans in with your recycling.
• Turkey trays, mince pie cases and wrapping/chocolate foil – just give them a quick rinse, scrunch them up, and add them to your other metals for recycling.
• Metal bottle tops – these are also made of aluminium, and are easiest to recycle if you screw the cap back on the bottle and recycle with the glass. Strange, but true.
• Drinks cans – an extra 500 million drinks cans are sold in the UK at Christmas time! Recycling one can saves enough energy to keep the Christmas tree lights on for two hours. What will you do with yours? (Answer: Recycle it, of course!)

“Aluminium has many properties that make it suitable for a wide variety of uses,” explains Rick Hindley, “and because it’s endlessly recyclable it can be remelted and reused over and over again. In fact 75% of all aluminium ever produced is still in use today.”

Recycling is easy to do and has big benefits when it comes to climate change. Using the same materials again and again takes less energy than making something from new materials, so it does the planet a big favour.

Rick added: “Our Christmas campaign supports the work we do with local authorities throughout the year to encourage residents to recycle their metal packaging. Alupro runs the ‘MetalMatters’ programme, which sees industry partnering with local authorities to promote recycling. MetalMatters has been delivered in over 50 council areas, reaching half a million households.

“The MetalMatters programme is a proven, cost-effective approach to making a positive difference to aluminium recycling rates.”

www.alupro.org.uk