Aluminum can recycling effort at Mardi Gras diverts aluminum from landfill and gives materials a second life
The Mardi Gras celebration contributes to the cause of recycling by returning aluminum used in beverage cans to free up landfills and generate funds that go to charity.
Mardi Gras 2023 was a special date for the Can Manufacturers Institute (CMI) as they were able to generate partnerships with local organizations to help recycle tons and tons of used aluminum beverage cans. These containers, instead of receiving a final destination in landfills, were sold at double the agreed price and the proceeds were used to benefit local people. In addition, the recycled metal was transformed into new cans.
In a used can collection activity, nearly 143,000 cans were collected and sold at a local recycler, generating nearly $4,000 for non-profit organizations and local people. Most will be converted into new cans and will increase the average recycled content in these cans from 73%, producing less greenhouse gas emissions in their manufacture. This is equivalent to the emissions from driving a car for more than 35,000 miles.
Mardi Gras’ project, Recycle Dat, had the objective of collecting UBC from two different subjects.
1. To help Mardi Gras parade participants recycle their empty cans, four recycling centers and ten dedicated bins were set up at major points along the route they took during the weekend. Volunteers were in charge of these areas and to make their job easier, they used backpacks designed to hold the cans, large trolleys and tongs to easily reach the bottles.
2. Urge citizens to not only dispose of their empty cans, but to opt to deposit them directly at specialized recycling sites such as those offered by EMR, located within the central New Orleans area.
The Mardi Gras parade was an opportunity for New Orleans residents to contribute funds to local charities, such as Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana, Louisiana SPCA and New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity. CMI (collector of recyclable material) doubled all the income generated by the cans collected during the initiative. In addition, redeemers were allowed to put the money towards such charities if they wished, or simply keep it in their account. The EMR collector also benefited from this act of solidarity with two thirds of the cans brought directly to the site while the remainder circulated along the parade route.
Scott Breen, vice president of sustainability at CMI, discussed the can recycling structure presented to aluminum beverage cans. This pilot initiative has enabled participants to recycle and sell nearly 150,000 aluminum cans to earn income and prevent them from ending up in landfills. The company is looking forward to collaborating with local partners in the coming year and hopes to collect much more of the used cans to donate to local charities and turn them into new ones.
Breen highlighted CMI’s partnership with local recycling entities, such as Grounds Krewe, a non-profit company, as well as New Orleans & Company and the city department. These organizations make up the Recycle Dat project, whose website lists the local breweries and other partners that are part of the project.
Brett Davis, the founder of Grounds Krewe, has expressed how much it means to him and the volunteers to have the help of the Environmental Collective (WCC) in New Orleans. The WCC collaborates by allocating financial resources and dedicating efforts to promote recycling during Mardi Gras. This allows them to collect every used beverage can and a volunteer to let them know that the material can be reused infinitely.
The CMI (Beverage Can Industry Convention) is committed to making progress towards its goals related to aluminum can recycling. Ardagh Metal Packaging, Canpack, Crown Holdings and Envases along with Constellium, Kaiser Aluminum, Novelis and Tri-Arrows Aluminum are responsible for carrying out this work. The recycling rate for 2020 is 45%, but the subsequent target is to reach 70% by 2030, 80% by 2040 and over 90% by 2050.
CMI collaborates with the pilot project Recycle Dat
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