Every Can Counts

It is always exciting to see and hear of fresh new developments in recycling and even better when you see it in action for yourself. Walking around Westwood Shopping Centre in Ramsgate recently I stumbled across what appeared to be a large waste bin. Only on closer inspection did I discover it is part of a nationwide campaign run by the drinks companies and the recycling industry to try and get all of us to recycle more of our soft drink cans.

Called Every Can Counts the campaign was launched way back in 2009 and with their tenth anniversary coming up fast in 2019 we at UKVending thought it was worth having a look at. The original aim of EveryCanCounts was to try and recycle 30% of drinks cans used by people at work and on the go. In the last decade the campaign has seen 13,000 branded recycling points established nationwide and thousands of organisations have signed up to join in the campaign.

The process couldn’t be simpler. Used aluminium and steel cans are collected and then melted down and reused in a process called ‘closed loop’ recycling where there is no waste and no loss of quality in the product. Moreover the same steel and aluminium can be used endlessly.

EveryCanCounts continues to recruit new organisations who share its aims. In return these companies, large and small alike, receive an array of information and resources that will help them encourage ever more collecting and recycling of old used drinks cans.