PRN funding has enabled Novelis to continually invest in the promotion and growth of aluminium recycling and help local authorities with their recycling awareness campaigns
When PRN funding was first made available to the industry, household collections for aluminium cans had not been conceived. Instead, the aluminium industry – through Alcan – invested in collection hubs and provided equipment for community groups and local authorities to begin sourcing material.
It also funded the Cash for Cans scheme, which provided a financial incentive for collectors.
More recently, Novelis has used PRN funding to contribute to the upgrading of its Warrington plant, in order to process co mingled, or mixed, waste efficiently.
It invested in sorting equipment designed to remove contamination such as plastics.
Now the focus is on communication. Novelis oversees its own educational website, ThinkCans, but also invests in Alupro. Funded by the metal packaging sector, Alupro facilitates and runs consumer information and education programmes designed to encourage participation and help the industry to meet – and exceed – recycling targets.
The main target areas are to work with local authorities through the Metal Matters programme, to encourage householders to increase participation in metal packaging recycling (Valpak is one of the programme’s funding partners).
Meanwhile, Every Can Counts targets ‘On the Go’ consumption from sites such as offices, festivals and shopping centres.
Alupro also manages an educational site called Learning Aluminium, which supports school pupils between seven and 14, and incorporates the Alu D&T awards.
PRN funding allows us to focus on the value adding part of reprocessing and utilise funds on communications activities. It’s important to encourage consumers. We have to do everything we can to communicate that there are good reasons for people to continue to recycle.