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Three Scottish Councils join forces for MetalMatters campaign

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The latest MetalMatters campaign in Scotland sees East, North and South Ayrshire Councils joining forces to call on residents to make their metals matter and boost household recycling of metal packaging.

Every year, more than 173 million* items of metal packaging are thrown away by Ayrshire households – that’s almost 20,000 drinks cans, food tins and aerosols getting binned every single hour of the day; that’s equivalent to the same weight as 14 double-decker buses every year.

East, North and South Ayrshire Councils are now taking part in the campaign, supported by the metal packaging industry, to dramatically increase the amount of metal the 172,000 households in the area recycle.

All households in the three Council areas will shortly receive two leaflets, distributed six weeks apart, to remind them what can be recycled in their recycling collection and explaining what happens to the metal packaging once it has been collected for recycling. Signage on recycling collection vehicles will also carry the campaign messages and you can find out more at roadshow events, running throughout August and September, and publicity on council websites.

Rick Hindley, Executive Director of project managers Alupro, said: “The MetalMatters programme is one of the most cost-effective ways to motivate residents to recycle more. We are looking forward to seeing positive results from the campaign across Ayrshire as more residents recycle more materials at home.”

MetalMatters is the largest industry-funded recycling campaign in the United Kingdom and has been commended by Scottish and UK Governments for its contribution to driving up and sustaining metal capture rates.

Councillor Eoghann MacColl, Cabinet Member for Housing and Communities at East Ayrshire Council said: “This superb campaign has already run in over 50 councils across the UK and results show it works, with a significant and lasting increase in the amount of metal packaging collected.

“It represents a win-win position for all of us and it’s amazing to think of all the benefits we can enjoy, just by putting our can, tin or waste metal in the recycling bin!”

Councillor Tony Gurney, North Ayrshire Council’s Cabinet Member for Place, said: “I’d like to thank our residents for their ongoing commitment to recycling and would encourage them to continue to help us in our efforts to protect and enhance the area for future generations. Over the years we have shown our commitment to recycling, reducing our impact on the local environment and working with our communities to create a cleaner and greener North Ayrshire and I hope this campaign will help us to build on what we’ve already achieved.”

Councillor John McDowall, Portfolio Carrier for Sustainability and the Environment for South Ayrshire Council added: “Our residents currently recycle around half of their waste, which is a great achievement, but we know we can do even more – and making metals ‘matter’ will play a big part in that. Many of us are now used to recycling the likes of paper or cardboard, and we need to ensure that thinking extends to our waste metal too. The new campaign will help inform people about what happens to their metal packaging once it’s been collected. “For example, the average household uses 380 drinks cans a year, every one of which can be recycled and back on sale in just 60 days – so we can all make a real difference .”

For more information about the new metal packaging recycling campaign visit:

www.east-ayrshire.gov.uk

www.north-ayrshire.gov.uk

www.south-ayrshire.gov.uk

Ends

* Number of million packaging items based on:
600 food tins, 380 drinks cans and 27 empty aerosols thrown out by an average household annually (1007 items), multiplied by approx. number of households 172,000 in North, East and South Ayrshire.

Success of Industry – Funded communications revealed in MetalMatters report

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Success of industry-funded recycling communications campaign, MetalMatters, revealed in new performance report

The business case for recycling communications has been laid out in a new report by the Aluminium Packaging Recycling Organisation (Alupro) reviewing the MetalMatters programme and demonstrating the power of voluntary industry backing. Figures are based upon data from campaigns that have run in 50 local  authorities across the UK between 2012-2015, with the support of the metal packaging industry partnership. Read more

MetalMatters to the rescue for cash-strapped councils

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The recent report produced by the Chartered Institution of Waste Management (CIWM) and consultancy firm Ricardo AEA , ‘Waste on the Front Line – Challenges and Innovations’, has warned that recycling rates could start falling because of cuts to council communications budgets.

Local authorities struggling to finance communication campaigns can turn to MetalMatters! The cost-effective programme is proven to raise awareness about metal packaging recycling, motivating residents to get involved and recycle more – whilst paying for itself in a matter of months.

Thanks to the value of the additional metal packaging collected, each MetalMatters campaign delivers excellent ROI, increasing the volume of metal packaging in the household recycling stream, and positively impacting overall recycling rates.

MetalMatters is a proven and affordable way for councils to deliver effective messaging to residents about recycling and can be targeted at every household or to specific rounds or groups. It is based on two leaflet drops, typically delivered 8 weeks apart, to inform and then remind householders about what and how to recycle, and explains what happens to metal packaging in the recycling process.

Kent Resource Partnership: Campaign ROI achieved within 6 months

Kent Resource Partnership: Campaign ROI achieved within 6 months

In addition to the leaflets MetalMatters offers Councils an extensive choice of communications materials including vehicle livery, advertisements, schools materials, social media posts and roadshow activity.

Rick Hindley, Executive Director of project managers, Alupro, says: “The MetalMatters programme is continuing its support for local authority kerbside collections, providing a very cost-effective way to keep recycling at the front of residents’ minds.  MetalMatters is the largest industry-funded recycling communications campaign in the United Kingdom and has been commended by central and devolved governments for its contribution to driving up and sustaining metal capture rates.”

He adds: “Partnerships really are the key to delivering services while cutting costs. MetalMatters can help local authorities deliver professional communications campaigns, bolstering recycling rates and delivering excellent value for money. It’s vital that we keep reminding and encouraging people to recycle. We have made excellent progress over recent years, and through cross-sector collaboration we can keep building on that momentum.”

The programme is funded by a partnership of metal packaging manufacturers, fillers and reprocessors and is delivered on their behalf by the Aluminium Packaging Recycling Organisation (Alupro), working in partnership with local authorities and their waste collection partners.

Recycling officers are encouraged to explore the case studies to see how the MetalMatters campaign has directly targeted more than 2.7 million households to boost recycling.

Wrexham campaign marks a Milestone for MetalMatters

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1002Recycle08The first MetalMatters campaign of 2015 sees people living in Wrexham being urged to recycle more of the estimated 58.4 million items of metal packaging  they use in their homes every year.* The latest campaign marks a landmark for the industry-funded programme, which has now been deployed in 50 local authorities across the UK, directly targeting over 3 million households.

The new campaign aims to help people understand what can be recycled and explain what happens to the metals collected.   The MetalMatters programme, which is funded by the metal packaging manufacturing industry, recyclers and fillers, has teamed up with Waste Awareness Wales and Wrexham Council to launch the ‘make your metals matter’ recycling campaign to raise awareness of the importance of metal packaging recycling and to increase the amount collected from households.

If all the metal packaging used in the Wrexham area each year was collected for recycling it would save around 4,100 tonnes of carbon dioxide, the equivalent to taking over 1009 cars off local streets for a year***.

Aiming to spread this message throughout the area the communications campaign will reach more than 58,000 households and includes leaflets which will be sent to every home, online advertising and social media posts which will carry the ‘make your metals matter’ message. Roadshows at local supermarkets will also enable residents to get more information about what they can do to make a difference.

Cllr David Bithell, Lead Member for the Environment and Public Protection, said:

“We’re calling on local residents to make their metals matter and help increase the areas recycling performance. We are committed to reducing the amount of waste sent to landfill and we hope the campaign will encourage our residents to recycle more of the metal packaging they use every day. Every can recycled saves enough energy to run a TV for three hours, so a small action like putting your empty bean tin in the recycling bag, box or bin can make a big difference. Our next target is reaching 70% by 2025 help us to reach our target.”

Andrew Osborne, Recycling Officer at Waste Awareness Wales said

“Metal packaging is a priority material to capture for Wales. Recycling as much of it as possible via Wrexham’s green box scheme will stop more of this valuable resource ending up in landfill”

Rick Hindley, Executive Director of project managers Alupro, said: “It is great to be able to work in partnership with Waste Awareness Wales and Wrexham County Borough Council to promote the recycling of metal packaging in the city. The MetalMatters programme has delivered significant increases in the volumes of metal packaging collected for recycling in other parts of the UK, so we’re aiming to repeat – and hopefully better this – in Wrexham.”

The campaign is being jointly funded by MetalMatters,  Waste Awareness Wales and Wrexham County Borough Council. MetalMatters is run by the Aluminium Packaging Recycling Organisation (Alupro) on behalf of the funding partners.

 ENDS

* Number of million packaging items based on: 600 food tins, 380 drinks cans and 27 empty aerosols thrown out by an average household annually (1007 items), multiplied by approx. number of households 58,000 in Wrexham.

**Research carried out by the BCME (Beverage Can Makers Europe) during the inception stage of the MetalMatters programme.

Largest MetalMatters Campaign up and running across Greater Manchester

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Pictured (L to R) launching the Greater Manchester MetalMatters Campaign in Altrincham are: Kate Ravenscroft (Communications Specialist, Novelis UK), Cllr. Nigel Murphy (Labour Member for Manchester),

MetalMatters has teamed up with Recycle For Greater Manchester (R4GM) for its latest campaign to improve capture rates for metal packaging. As part of the latest campaign over 405,000 households in four districts are being directly targeted in the 12 week campaign.

A first for this campaign is the segmentation of council districts within a major conurbation: The direct communication element of the programme, based on a two phase leaflet drop to every household and local roadshows, is focusing on four local authorities, Rochdale, Stockport, Manchester and Trafford. Whilst other elements of the campaign, including radio and press advertising, will extend across all nine districts in the Recycle for Greater Manchester area (1.1 million households). Another new element in this campaign will see 15,250 households in the four districts targeted by a door-knocking campaign.

The 12 week campaign has been developed by MetalMatters and Recycle for Greater Manchester (R4GM) and is funded by R4GM (Viridor Laing), MetalMatters and the Waste & Resources Action Prgorammge (WRAP).

Rick Hindley, Executive Director of Alupro, said: “We are excited by the new approach that the Greater Manchester campaign is taking and we hope to learn a great deal about the impact and effectiveness of the MetalMatters messages across a major conurbation and, at the same time, in very specific areas, including those with a high percentage of multi-occupancy accommodation. This will be valuable as we aim to develop and refine the campaign to help more local authorities and waste partnerships realise the value of metals in their waste streams.”

Councillor Elaine Sherrington, Chair of Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority Strategy & Behavioural Change said: “We’re calling on local residents to make their metals matter and help increase Greater Manchester’s recycling performance. We are committed to reducing the amount of waste sent to landfill and we hope the campaign will encourage our residents to recycle more.”

Claire Shrewsbury, WRAP’s Packaging Programme Area Manager commented: “WRAP is pleased to support the running of the MetalMatters campaign for Greater Manchester. With this campaign’s ability to reach over 400,000 householders, we appreciate the huge opportunity offered from this collaborative project. WRAP hopes the community will positively engage with the campaign and recycle more metal.”

R4GM aims to increase metal packaging recycling by at least 10% in the four District Councils over the next 12 months with a view to using the MetalMatters campaign again in subsequent years to target all households in Greater Manchester. Meanwhile Alupro and R4GM will monitor the campaign with reports scheduled in three, six and 12 months’ time.

Torfaen & Rhondda Cynon Taf Residents Urged to Make Their Metals Matter

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Pictured (L to R) Iolo Williams, Ian Helme (Coppice Alupack), Garvin Freeman (Tata Steel)

Launching the latest MetalMatters campaign in south Wales TV presenter Iolo Williams called on residents of Torfaen and Rhondda Cynon Taff (RCT) to ‘make their metals matter’ and recycle more of the metal packaging items they use at home every year.

With the average household in the Torfaen Borough using over 60 million items of metal packaging* each year and the RCT Borough using 106 million items (joint total 166 million), the campaign is encouraging residents to recycle more of the food tins, drink cans, foil trays and empty aerosols. The metal used to make each item is endlessly recyclable, saving natural resources, energy and greenhouse gas emissions and cutting pressure on landfill for waste disposal. The new campaign, which is backed by Waste Awareness Wales and the metal packaging industry, aims to help people understand what can be recycled and explain what happens to the metals collected.

Leaflets explaining how and what items can be recycled to boost the area’s metal packaging recycling rates will shortly start arriving in every home across the two Boroughs. In addition the ‘make your metals matter’ campaign message will feature in advertisements in local newspapers and radio, as well as online via the council websites.

Iolo Williams said: “As a nature lover I’m passionate about caring for the environment, and getting in the recycling habit at home is one way we can all help to make a difference. Just think of all the things we use in our kitchens and bathrooms that are packaged using metal — food tins, drink cans, foil trays and aerosols — these items can all be easily recycled over and over again! I think this is a great campaign and I’m delighted to be supporting it today.”

Andrew Osborne, Campaigns & Recycling Officer, Waste Awareness Wales, supported the call to action saying: “We’re asking residents to get in the habit of recycling metal packaging that they use every day in the home. A small action like simply putting your drinks can or food tin in the recycling bin or bag will make a big difference to the environment as well as helping Wales meet its recycling targets.”

The Minister for Natural Resources, Carl Sargeant at Welsh Government said: “Wales is leading the way for recycling in the UK, but we have challenging targets to meet and it’s great to see that Torfaen and Rhondda Cynon Taf councils are working with residents and the metal packaging industry to make improvements. It is vital that we try and make metals matter and recycle as much as possible.”

Rick Hindley of the MetalMatters industry partnership said: “We have done extensive research into recycling habits and found that it is often the uncertainty of how to recycle, and what happens to the items recycled that prevents people from doing more. Campaigns like this allow us to take the recycling message into people’s homes and highlight exactly how they can help just by recycling more of the packaging they use every day.”

* Number of million packaging items based on: 600 food tins, 380 drinks cans and 27 empty aerosols thrown out by an average household annually (1007 items), multiplied by approx. number of households.

Metal packaging recycling programme receives backing from Environment Secretary

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Secretary of State for Environment, Owen Paterson

•High profile backing for industry’s partnership programme from government minister
•MetalMatters launches three new campaigns in Lewisham, Shropshire and Glasgow
•Programme now reaches 2.3 million households

The Secretary of State for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs Rt. Hon Owen Paterson has offered his support to the MetalMatters recycling communications programme as it launches three major campaigns in the last month, targeting 360,000 households.
The industry-funded campaign works with local authorities to help improve capture rates for metals collected at the kerbside, with communications designed to encourage people to make their ‘metals matter’.

MetalMatters campaign partnerships with the London Borough of Lewisham, Shropshire Council and Glasgow City Council all launched in March, with the aim of increasing recycling capture rates for metal packaging, and in turn offering lasting return on investment for the local authorities involved.

The programme has received praise from Mr Paterson, the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and MP for North Shropshire, who was on hand to launch Shropshire Council’s MetalMatters campaign and offer his support for the programme as a whole. He said: “This is an excellent campaign to encourage households to recycle their metal packaging and one I’m keen to support. I’m looking forward to seeing some positive results from the people reached by all three of these campaigns.”

Each of the recently launched campaigns will see leaflet drops to households and targeted marketing communications activities to promote the ‘make your metals matter’ message, including panels on recycling vehicles, outdoor advertising and town centre roadshows.1 In addition, MetalMatters provides the councils with a range of template communications materials for use in publications and on websites to promote the benefits of metal recycling.

The MetalMatters programme is funded by a partnership of metal packaging manufacturers, fillers and reprocessors and is delivered on their behalf by the Aluminium Packaging Recycling Organisation (Alupro), working in partnership with local authorities and their waste collection partners.
Rick Hindley, Executive Director at Alupro, said: “Our local authority partners are continuing to experience positive results in increasing their recycling rates and reducing waste sent to landfill. The benefits of introducing the MetalMatters campaign don’t just stop at the increase in metal capture rates, but also allow local authorities to recover the campaign investment costs whilst also generating additional revenue streams that can be ploughed back into the communities they serve.

“To receive backing from The Secretary of State is a fantastic achievement for the campaign and is a true testament of the impact that MetalMatters continues to have on increasing the capture rate for metal packaging in kerbside recycling schemes, for those implementing the programme.”

The Environment & Energy Awards 2014: We’ve been shortlisted!

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The shortlist for the Environment & Energy Awards 2014 has been announced and we’re very excited to have been named as a finalist in the Sustainability Communications Campaign Award category.

This is the awards 15th year recognising leaders in the environment and energy industry, specifically those who are making a difference and creating an impact as they drive their vision forward in their operation.

The winners will be announced on the evening of Wednesday 2nd April, at a black tie dinner held at the National Motorcycle Museum in Birmingham. With over 300 guests expected and this year’s judges commenting that the standard of entries was incredibly high, we’re up against some tough competition.

This a great opportunity for the MetalMatters campaign to showcase our fantastic results to date and to be recognised amongst some of the industry’s best. So, we’re looking forward to using the opportunity to celebrate the fantastic results we’ve seen from the campaign so far, and toasting the many more to come.

Recycling incentives: do they offer a return on investment?

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Secro’s recently published report on the impact of recycling incentive schemes is a welcome piece of work that makes a useful contribution to the ongoing debate around how local authorities can encourage behaviour change at a time of public sector austerity and shrinking budgets.

It highlights the significant investment made into kerbside collection schemes and the need to maximise their performance.

What’s interesting is the conclusion that incentives, regardless of whether they are carrot or stick, appear to have relatively modest outcomes and don’t always provide clear return on investment.

It supports the view expressed in Defra’s Evaluation of the Waste Reward and Recognition Scheme report last month; that while rewards and recognition have the potential to improve people’s existing behaviour they are less likely to act as a catalyst for new behaviours.

My view for some time has been that you can’t compel households to act differently through incentive alone. There are plenty of people that still file their tax return late and incur a fine, even though they get plenty of warning and are aware of the penalties. People lead busy lives and recycling behaviour is more of a subconscious than conscious behaviour.

Apart from giving householders the physical means to recycle more effectively, the opportunity is to educate and communicate the benefits of recycling, not just to them personally but to wider society and the environment.

MetalMatters helps local authorities promote their kerbside metal recycling through a tried and tested communications programme. The success of our local authority partnerships are supported by Secro’s resident survey, which indicated that people are more likely to be encouraged to recycle by marketing communications than incentives [reference: 9% and 5% respectively].

For example, Aberdeenshire Council recorded a sustained increase in metal packaging recycling after launching the MetalMatters programme, which was delivered in partnership

with Zero Waste Scotland. It generated a return on investment within just 10 months and increased metal tonnages collected at the kerbside by 12%.

Similarly, one year on from launching a programme with Sefton Borough Council, 63% of the estimated total metal packaging used by households in the area is now collected for recycling — double the amount compared to before the campaign was introduced.

A big factor in the success of the MetalMatters programmes has been our unwavering focus on simplicity — a lesson that may benefit the local authorities looking to improve their recycling figures. We knew from the outset that to encourage householders to recycle more metal packaging we needed compelling and very simple communication to cut through with our messages. We are fortunate that the advantages and convenience of metal packaging recycling is really simple. It’s valuable, endlessly recyclable and can be transformed into something new within as little as six weeks.

As the Defra report concluded, reward schemes should not be seen as a quick fix. If behaviour change is to be achieved, communication is the key.

MetalMatters: Reflecting back

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Rick Hindley, Executive Director at Alupro
Rick Hindley, Executive Director at Alupro

MetalMatters has come a long way since the first campaign launched in 2010. That campaign was an industry ‘first’, bringing together the findings of detailed qualitative and quantitative research into waste arisings, and consumer attitudinal research, which had never previously been undertaken in relation to one material stream to such a detailed extent.

The founding partners invested a significant amount of time and money to try and understand what motivates householders to recycle, and how to encourage behavioural change to boost kerbside metal packaging collection rates.

The investment is now paying dividends, for the funding partners and the local authorities who are running MetalMatters campaigns. Three years on, we have worked with over 30 local authorities and we are really starting to see the long-term impact of the programme, beyond the initial communications drive.

We knew from our research that to encourage householders to recycle more metal packaging we needed compelling and very simple communication to inform, educate and above all reassure them that recycling is worth the effort. Several creative approaches were tested, of which the ‘transformation’ message was judged the most effective: the simple fact that metal packaging can be endlessly recycled, into an infinite variety of products, really hit home.

In every area where we’ve run MetalMatters, capture rates for metal packaging in have increased, so it seems the message is getting through, and, more importantly, householders are acting on it.

What we are starting to see now is the longer-term impact of the campaign. One year on from the launch of campaigns with Sefton Council and Aberdeenshire Council analysis shows that capture rates have continued to rise steadily. So not only are campaigns covering their financial cost in the short term, the returns are continuing.

Sefton Council are now collecting 700 tonnes more metal packaging a year than they were before implementing the MetalMatters campaign, saving over 2,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide. A significant and positive environmental change.

Aberdeenshire Council has also seen the positive effects of clear and consistent communication with local residents. A year after the campaign metal tonnages collected at the kerbside have risen by an impressive 12%.

The flexibility of the MetalMatters communication programme means the campaign can be tailored to meet the objectives, budgets and specific communications channels of each local authority. And as well as providing a cost-effective way of engaging with and educating householders, an added advantage is that implementing MetalMattters can also generate a lasting return on investment.

We are fortunate that the advantages and convenience of metal packaging recycling is really simple to communicate. It’s the most valuable material in the household waste stream and endlessly recyclable, so the benefits are simple to communicate and convey.

We’re proud to look back on these successful campaigns and see the long-term changes MetalMatters has helped to make. We will now take our learnings into 2014 and hope to continue to develop and deliver strong results.