Brits call for more 'on the go' can recycling facilities

Survey finds on-street facilities the most in-demand...

As our habit for consuming ‘on-the-go’ food and drink continues to rise, research conducted by Every Can Counts has highlighted that 60% of consumers are calling for more can recycling facilities on the street, while 56% would like to see more on beach fronts, and 51% are calling for more facilities at music and sporting events.

The Every Can Counts survey of over 10,000 people was conducted across 30 festival and sporting events in 2019. As well as investigating where more can recycling facilities are needed, the survey also examined perceptions around the recyclability of different drink containers.  58% of respondents deemed drink cans to be one of the most recyclable containers, followed by plastic bottles (44%), glass bottles (26%) and then cartons (12%).

When presented with the recycling facts, 56% of those surveyed were astonished to learn that drink cans are infinitely recyclable, while the fact that a recycled drink can could be back on a shop shelf in just 60 days impressed 28% of respondents the most.

Chris Latham-Warde, Every Can Counts Programme Manager, commented: “As we become increasingly aware of the impact our lifestyles have on the environment, it is important that we as an organisation gain an insight into recycling attitudes and understand any barriers that consumers may face. This research enables us to focus our activities so we can better support consumer desires to recycle more, ensuring we continue to progress towards our vision of a 100% recycling rate for drink cans.”

The current recycling rate for drink cans in the UK stands at 75% but there is still plenty of room to drive up the recycling rate of this valuable material. The Every Can Counts programme works with people, organisations and events to promote drink can recycling and to inspire people to think differently about the value of their empty can.