(L-R): Neil Chapman, Business Development Manager, Ardagh Group; Nicola Bennett, Systems and Communications Manager, TATA Steel; Amy Blowes, Environmental Education Officer, Bedford Borough Council

Metal recycling campaign, MetalMatters, has launched a ‘major’ communications campaign in Bedford to encourage local residents to recycle more metal packaging.

The eight-week campaign, run in partnership with Bedford Borough Council and managed by the Aluminium Packaging and Recycling Organisation (Alupro), hopes to see residents recycle more of the estimated 1,400 tonnes of metal packaging used each year.

The communications campaign will involve a two-phase leaflet drop to 69,000 households in the county that will outline the types of metal packaging that are recyclable and what happens to these metals once they have been collected. Advertising will also be displayed on five council recycling vehicles, which will carry the ‘make your metals matter’ message.

Further to this, roadshows in the town centre and at local events will also run to provide residents with further information.

‘Significant savings’

According to MetalMatters, Bedford Borough Council could save a ‘significant’ amount of money annually by recycling more metal packaging. Indeed, the campaign says that used metal packaging is ‘highly valuable’ as it can be recycled into new products at a far lower cost to industry than making them from raw materials.

Further, the campaign group said that if all the metal packaging used in Bedford each year was collected for recycling, it would save around 5,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide, the equivalent to taking 960 cars off local streets.

However, research by Alupro revealed that people aren’t always aware that used metal packaging can be recycled into ‘new, valuable, everyday items’, which could be one of the reasons several tonnes of metal packaging used in the county are currently being lost to landfill each year.

Potential for ”impressive results”

Councillor Charles Royden, Portfolio Holder at Bedford Borough Council, explained: “By implementing the MetalMatters programme we are encouraging householders to recycle more of their metal packaging. We’re committed to reducing the amount of waste sent to landfill and the campaign will help us to better communicate the benefits of recycling to local residents.

“With support from MetalMatters, we are looking forward to getting out in the area and speaking directly to people at our summer roadshows. We will be using these events to show people just how easy it is to recycle metal packaging, such as food and drink cans and aerosols, and do their bit for the environment.”

Rick Hindley, Executive Director of Alupro added: “It is great to be launching our latest campaign in partnership with Bedford Borough Council to promote the recycling of metal packaging in the area. Some of our most recent campaigns have generated impressive results so we’re looking forward to building further on this by working together with the council to increase the amounts of metal packaging collected for recycling to make a positive impact in Bedford.”

Bedford Borough Council also launched Alupro campaign ‘You Can Leave Your Cap On’ earlier this month, alongside Sevenoaks District Council, Portsmouth City Council and Dartford and Bedford Borough Council. This campaign aims to encourage recyclers to screw the caps back on their glass bottles before recycling, so that the metal can be extracted during the recycling process.

Read more about the MetalMatters campaign on the Bedford Borough Council website.