Every Can Counts turns 15

Every Can Counts is celebrating its 15th anniversary these days. Established in Birmingham, UK, as a workplace recycling scheme in 2009, ECC is now active in 21 countries around the world, including Brazil, the United Arab Emirates and, most recently, the United States.

27 ECC representatives from around the world gathered in Prague prior to the European Aluminum Packaging and Recycling Seminar to commemorate this milestone. The celebrations were accompanied by a meeting where representatives from each region shared local success stories, and the group discussed next steps in the development of the program’s global strategy.

The program was launched 15 years ago after the Aluminum Container Recycling Organization (Alupro) identified that many workplaces did not have the infrastructure in place for employees to recycle their beverage cans.

Over the years, ECC has broadened its approach to engage consumers beyond the workplace, encouraging people to recycle their empty cans wherever they are. When it started, 54% of aluminum beverage cans in the UK were recycled, and since then, this figure has risen to 81%.

Through a series of creative partnerships and activations, ECC works to communicate the benefits of can recycling and improve out-of-home recycling facilities, having distributed more than 19,000 beverage can collection boxes nationwide since the program’s founding.

From its first festival appearance in 2010 to taking third place in this year’s Red Bull Soapbox race, ECC has taken its recycling message to more than 150 festivals, brands and sporting events. It has also partnered directly with 14 major beverage brands, recently launching a partnership with Molson Coors Beverage Company in early 2024.

ECC has toured the UK with several eye-catching installations to inspire recycling, including its giant rainbow made from 2,500 recycled cans, which has appeared in 13 locations over the years, including St. Paul’s Cathedral and Glasgow during COP26.

The initiative’s annual international recycling tour, first launched in 2020, has also worked to bring recycling to the forefront, with a different sustainability theme each year and a unique artwork called PixelCan, made from 2,000 recycled cans.

Along the way, the program has also awarded 30 of its Green Can Awards to companies, organizations and individuals who have gone above and beyond within their communities when it comes to can recycling. Among the winners is the Crewe Clean Team, which has recycled more than 200,000 used beverage cans over the past decade.

With ECC’s support, 50 community groups in the UK have set up can recycling collections in their local areas, using this activity to inspire positive change. For example, Cans4City has raised over £15,400 for the Exeter City Community Trust by collecting over 19 tons of beverage cans.

Chris Latham-Warde, manager of the Every Can Counts program, said: “Since the founding of Every Can Counts, the recycling rate of aluminum beverage cans in the UK has increased by an impressive 27%. We are incredibly proud of our contribution to this movement, emphasizing the importance of recycling used beverage cans and inspiring positive behavior change.” .

“We’ve come a long way from our humble beginnings in Birmingham to evolving into a global program with an ever-growing team working hard to spread our message, including that every can recycled can be back on the shelf in 60 days and recycled again and again.

“We can’t wait to see what the next 15 years hold as we continue to inspire and empower people to recycle.”