An initiative supported by Ball Corporation has invited everyone to join, participate and raise awareness about the importance of aluminum recycling, in an event of sustainability and wellbeing, developed between May 17 and 19.
Aiming to encourage sustainability actions, the Social Bank of Cans was present at the Tu Huella Fest festival, held between May 17 and 19, in Chile. Supported by Ball, the world’s leading manufacturer of aluminum containers, this initiative featured an impressive mural made from recycled aluminum cans with the aim of educating about the benefits of this material for the environment, as it is infinitely recyclable.
Amidst talks on ecology, workshops and live band shows at the festival, the 7 x 4 meter macro-structure made from 1,700 recycled cans, which also includes spaces for can collection, brought an image of a large shining sun that invited everyone to learn about the benefits of aluminum recycling and the value it brings to the environment and the community.
Promoted by Kyklos and Metalum and sponsored by Ball Corporation since 2022, the Social Bank of Cans is an initiative that seeks to build a common socio-environmental purpose among citizens, social organizations, educational establishments, companies and drivers, to promote the recycling of aluminum cans and the benefits that this material provides to the environment as it is infinitely recyclable. Through can recovery, we mobilize communities with entertaining prizes and incentives, benefiting their social causes and non-profit organizations.
For Julia Figueiredo, sustainability and public relations leader for Ball South America, “it is tremendously gratifying to see how this initiative year after year continues to grow, adding new educational establishments and, most importantly, increasing more and more the amount of cans that are recycled to give them a new life in the form of a new can. This is what we at Ball call a real circular economy, encouraging upcycling – when the material that is recycled is transformed into something of equal or greater value than it was before.”
In addition to making a presentation and giving a workshop on correct recycling focused on aluminum cans, the opportunity was also taken to inform about the new developments and goals of this campaign for 2024. In 2023, more than 20 tons were collected, being the first time that it left Santiago and incorporated the commune of Iquique and the regions of Biobío and La Araucanía, with the addition of the Valparaíso Region. In addition, an alliance was established with the Sustainable Campus Network to encourage the participation of Higher Education Institutions (HEI) in this challenge. To participate, all you have to do is register here: LINK (schools and higher education institutions), LINK (companies).
Regarding the impact generated by the Social Bank of Cans, Sebastián Herceg, corporate affairs director of Kyklos, emphasizes that “In only 3 years we have united more than 1,100 educational establishments, collecting more than 30 tons of aluminum cans and reaching more than 14 thousand students with activities focused on the circularity of the can. But what motivates us most is that through the recovery of materials we are giving schools the possibility to fulfill their dreams and have access to more resources to develop. By operating in five regions of the country, we are strengthening recycling, environmental education and the circular economy in Chile”.
About the Social Can Bank
Nearly 70% of all aluminum beverage cans worldwide are recycled, making aluminum the most recycled beverage container on the planet. However, Chile is far from this number, with an estimated 33%. The opportunity behind aluminum can recycling inspired the creation of the Social Bank of Cans in 2020 from a partnership between Kyklos, an environmental culture B company, and Metalum, the leading aluminum recycling company in Chile. In 2022, Ball, a world leader in sustainable aluminum packaging, joins as a promoter in order to amplify the environmental and social impact of the Social Can Bank in educational establishments. Last year, 720 schools in Chile (Santiago and regions) participated and more than 20 thousand kilos of aluminum cans were recovered, which were recovered and converted into resources to benefit more than 18 million pesos in exchange for educational prizes. To learn more about the campaign you can visit the website: www.bancosocialdelatas.cl.
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