The figures follow on from an announcement by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) claiming that the recycling rate for all aluminium packaging in the United Kingdom increased by more than 4%.
Rick Hindley, Alupro’s executive director, described the figures as welcome news for the industry.
“It follows a period of significant activity and investment to boost recycling participation and capture rates for aluminium… and reflects an increasing awareness of the economic value of recycling aluminium packaging,” he said.
According to Hindley, industry-backed initiatives, such as Every Can Counts, Aerofoil and MetalMatters, have increased capture rates for drinks cans away from the home. “They are also delivering a real shift in consumer behaviour leading to increased capture rates for all materials,” he said.
The Aerofoil campaign helped many local authorities expand kerbside collections, at little or no additional cost, while MetalMatters assists local authorities to promote household metal packaging recycling.