Calling all Student Scorsese Wannabes

The Can Makers have launched a nationwide search for the best video dispelling the myths around recycling drinks cans.  “Myth Busting – what happens to your drinks can when it’s recycled”,  jointly sponsored by the British Film Institute asks students to enter short videos exploring the myths of drinks can recycling, particularly what happens to our recycling, which is often misunderstood.  Entrants will have a chance to win £1,500 and be recognised nationally as a leading student filmmaker.

The celebrated British actor Danny Dyer leads a host of celebrities and experts from the environment, sustainability and film making industries who will be judging the entries.  The full list includes Danny Dyer, Actor; Craig Stevens, Sky Movies Presenter; Geoffrey Macnab, The Independent Film Critic; Jamie Crawford, Presenter and Environmental Filmmaker; Jennifer Granville, Director of Northern Film School, Leeds Metropolitan University; Dr Colin Church, DEFRA; and Noel Goodwin, BFI Education Programmer for Young People.

Entrants will need to submit a video, no more than two minutes in length, which busts some of the popular drinks can recycling myths.  Whether it’s an animation, a funny stunt or a short documentary, the winning student will be rewarded the top prize of £1,500.  The winner of each of the five sub-categories will win £500.

The closing date for entries is Thursday 28^th February 2013.
Full terms and conditions and information on how to enter are available on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/CanMakersVideo.

The evolution of the drinks can: changing the consumer’s can

Since the drinks can’s introduction in the 1930s, society has continually changed and evolved but through it all, the drinks can has remained a popular drinks pack. This is the first of two blogs that explore how drinks cans have changed with society.

 

It was the 1930s that the drinks can came about. The world was much smaller thanks to intercontinental flights and the start of air mail. Good ideas and inventions could then spread across the globe at a faster pace. Canned beer was first developed in 1930 in the US. Easier communication of ideas meant that technology evolved in the UK and it was introduced in 1935.  The first cans were constructed from three pieces of metal with a cone-shaped top, looked like bottles and had a screw cap.

The period between the thirties and sixties was one of war, upheaval, rebuild, austerity and rigidity. In the sixties, views began to relax as did licensing laws. Alcohol became more widely available in supermarkets, for which cans were perfectly suited. Light and durable, cans also required minimal shelf space.

More changes in social attitudes and desires in the seventies saw supermarkets increase product variety and choice, so less shelf space was available. This was ideal for cans which, thanks to the new two-piece construction, could be stacked and easily displayed. Multipacks were also increasingly popular and the introduction of ring-pulls did away with keys, adding another level of convenience and saw a marked increase in canned drink sales.

The eighties – an extremely difficult economic period at the start finished with boom and economic growth. Manufacturing improvements and efficiency were vital and the can underwent lightweighting and continual innovation.  By 1981, two-piece cans led the UK market. In the second half of the decade, times had changed as had consumers’ lifestyles and the can remained popular – still drinks in cans were introduced, the retained ring-pull was developed and a lighter can with a more cost-effective way of production was in place.

Our next blog will explore the nineties, the “naughties” and present day.

How V Festival is making Every Can Count

Music festivals see lots of cans consumed, brought in by campers and sold onsite, making them the perfect fit for Every Can Counts, the programme that’s getting people recycling at work and on the go. As Festival organisers are keen to reduce their environmental footprint and raise the profile of the event’s green credentials, Every Can Counts provides a platform for this.

This video shows Every Can Counts at work at V Festival in Telford. The programme joined forces with contractors Ryans Event Cleaning and Panda Waste to collect, sort and process the cans onsite. Ryans and Panda set up can recycling points across the site. Every Can Counts were responsible for communicating the recycling message, providing highly visible and interactive promotions during the event to encourage festival-goers to do the right thing with their empty cans. Cans recovered in the waste stream were sorted onsite, with equipment provided by Novelis Recycling.

Around 130,000 cans, which equates to over two tonnes of aluminium and steel, were collected at V. A great achievement considering every can is infinitely recyclable without loss of quality and each can recycled substantially reduces the environmental footprint of the next one made.

Click here to watch the video: www.youtube.com/everycancounts

A look back at the Soft Drinks International Conference

The Soft Drinks International Conference, held at the Tower Hotel, London, saw delegates from all over the world come together to discuss the soft drinks industry. Topics ranged from packaging and innovation, to consumer behaviour and sustainability. Representatives included Geoff Courtney, Chairman of the UK Can Makers, and Every Can Counts and MetalMatters Director, Rick Hindley as well as UK and international representatives from Coca Cola Enterprises, Euromonitor, Canadean and UNESDA (Union of European Soft Drinks Associations) to name but a few.

Representing the UK Can Makers, Geoff Courtney’s presentation was a dynamic look at the beverage can covering three main themes: Evolution, Innovation and Sustainability. Used for soft drinks since the 1950s, the can has undergone continual evolution, keeping up with changing needs and holding its own as a consumer pack of choice for soft drinks. Of particular note are continual lightweighting, the expansive range of appearances, shapes, sizes and formats available and the fresh tasting, cold beverage that the humble can provides. Geoff also discussed sustainability initiatives supported by the Can Makers such as Every Can Counts and MetalMatters programmes.

Overall, the conference was very informative, well attended and a great success and we would like to thank the organisers from Soft Drinks International magazine for a most enjoyable and enlightening conference.

51 million drinks cans recycled in 2011 with Every Can Counts

Every Can Counts, the out of the home drinks can recycling programme co-funded by BCME, has announced its 2011 results. 51 million cans were collected from participating workplaces and ‘on the go’ locations in the UK over the past year. This equates to 774 tonnes of aluminium and steel saved from landfill and around 5,800 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions avoided as a result of the programme. The figure is equivalent to each employee from registered organisations recycling  five cans per month, an increase of 25% year on year.

The programme has come a long way in the three years since its launch. Originally developed as a trial programme to test the barriers and drivers to successful recycling outside the home, Every Can Counts has now established a model to help organisations that are working towards sustainability objectives, such as zero waste to landfill. The programme was cited as an example of best practice in the Government Review of Waste Policy in England 2011.

With a name and brand identity that works well in any language, the Every Can Counts programme has also now been successfully replicated in France, Austria, Romania and Hungary, with more European markets looking to follow suit.

To find out how to get involved with the programme visit www.everycancounts.co.uk. You can also follow Every Can Counts on Facebook and Twitter.

¹ Figures have been calculated using data provided by a representative sample of Every Can Counts programme users and calculated using methodology approved by the Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP).

Can Film Festival Gets Students Recycling Can Film Festival Gets Students Recycling

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2012 is off to a strong start for Every Can Counts. The out-of-home recycling programme kicked off its student outreach to UK universities during Go Green Week (6^th-11^th February) with the Can Film Festival. Aimed at boosting campus recycling, the initiative offers students, lecturers and staff free film screenings in exchange for their empty drinks cans.

 Now in its third successful year, the Can Film Festival, open throughout the academic year, aims to raise awareness of the recyclability of drinks cans and encourage more students and young people to do the right thing with their empties.  Participating campuses have access to Every Can Counts recycling containers, posters and promotional materials to help encourage both staff and students to swap their empty cans for entry.

While Every Can Counts reaches out to business and consumers alike, the Can Film Festival encourages long term behavioural change by making recycling rewarding, easy and fun at universities. Forty universities requested packs ahead of this year’s start during Go Green Week to run their own Can Film Festivals, including King’s College, London, University of Birmingham and Newcastle University, with more to come in the academic year.

For more information visit www.everycancounts.co.uk/about. You can also follow Every Can Counts on Facebook and Twitter.

The Sustainable History of the Can

Recycling has been around for centuries, with modern metal recycling facilities developed in the 1970s on a larger scale. Since then millions of tonnes of cans have been recycled and used, not only for the production of new cans, but other products such as kettles or even busses. Many of us know that the beverage can is the most recyclable drinks pack in the world. Every part of a drinks can can be recycled infinitely with no loss of quality and can be back on shelf as a brand new can in as little as six weeks.

Lightweighting has been a big focus in recent years for the packaging industry. This reduces the amount of materials used in products, and has cost reduction implications when it comes to transporting. For the beverage can industry, lightweighting is not a new phenomenon and, in fact, has been continually deployed for over 30 years. This means it is now possible to produce three times as many cans from the same amount of material as it was 30 years ago. Today, the 330ml tinplate can weighs just 21g; the aluminium can just 10g, with a midwall thickness thinner than a human hair.

Every Can Counts launches in Barnstaple town centre

Drinks can recycling programme Every Can Counts has been launched to shoppers and retailers across Barnstaple town centre.  Working with BID Barnstaple in partnership with Barnstaple Town Council, Every Can Counts is working to improve drinks can recycling in the centre’s 400 retail units.  Barnstaple is the first retail centre in the South West to launch the programme.

Every Can Counts has been introduced as part of a focused green strategy, to demonstrate an environmental commitment, which includes diverting as much waste from landfill as possible.  The programme also fits with the BID civic pride initiative, which aims to encourage both traders and shoppers alike to take pride in their town centre.

Every Can Counts has previously partnered with North Devon Council, Ilfracombe Town Council and Woolacombe Parish council to encourage residents to recycle their drinks cans at Ilfracombe and Woolacombe beaches. Cans are being collected and processed by local community recycling enterprise, Community Resources,  a not-for-profit organisation based in Ilfracombe with a satellite unit in Barnstaple, which  provide meaningful, practical and worthwhile activities for adults with learning disabilities.

Expanding on this partnership, each of the 400 stores and restaurants within Barnstaple town centre have been provided with Every Can Counts recycling boxes and promotional materials to encourage both staff and shoppers to recycle their empty drink cans.

For more information or to start recycling with Every Can Counts visit www.everycancounts.co.uk or read more about it here 

Bid for your very own piece of can art

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Launched in June by TV presenter and avid recycler, Miquita Oliver, BCME’s i luv my can competition challenged lovers of iced-cold drinks to turn ordinary beverage cans into beautiful creations for a chance to win an amazing prize fund and help a worthy charity. Ten entries have been shortlisted for the top prize and you can bid to own one of them in the upcoming online auction.

The ten finalists include a gorgeous couture-inspired bustier made from empty beer cans, a lanyard made from ring pulls intricately woven together, a working desk  lamp created  out of a single soft drinks can, and an eight foot Union Jack flag designed using over 250 individual cans. There were also some incredibly creative canny videos showing everything from a can’s white water adventure to a stop motion video of a beautiful can balloon’s flight.

 

The canny creations will be auctioned online alongside a bespoke piece Can Forks, by artist Sam Sheristan, featuring 98 individual forks made entirely from drinks cans. Proceeds from the online auction will be donated to the Art Fund, UK’s leading charity that helps secure great art for museums and galleries for everyone to enjoy. The overall winner of the competition will  receive £1000 plus a year’s supply of their favourite canned drink.

For your chance to secure one of the unique creations for your office or personal enjoyment, you can bid in the eBay auction which has just kicked off. The auction will close at 8pm on the 23rd of October so get bidding!

The ten finalists are:

• Most Artistic Can – Spider Can, by Ade Dalby
• Most Fashionable Can –  Can Bustier, by Hannah Sykes
• Most Unusual re-use of a Can – Can Lanyard, by Philippine Community Fund
• Anything Goes – Can Flag, by Robert Kitchen (bid)
• Best Can Furniture – Cangle Poise Lamp, by Ade Dalby (bid)

 

• Most Extreme Can – Ken’s Big Day Out, by Alan Ward
• Best Can Landmark – Tower Bridge, by David Surrey and Lewis Dee-Thomas
• Most Intrepid Can – Cantern, by James Edenborough
• Best Can Trick – Ace Shot, by Lee Pretious
• Ultimate Can Moment – Original Song and Dancing Can, by Anthony Johnson

To view the ten finalists visit www.iluvmycan.co.uk and to make a bid on the charity eBay auction to raise money for the Art Fund visit or search for i luv my can at www.ebay.co.uk.

 

 

 

‘i luv my can’ campaign launches

http://www.iluvmycan.co.uk/

The beverage can is often the unsung hero in the consumers’ hands.  We all love cold, refreshing drinks whenever we want them, the fact that cans are perfect on the move and easy to recycle which is why they are the most recycled drinks pack in the world.  But how does the industry get consumers to recognise this more strongly?

i luv my can is a brand new campaign which aims to get these messages across by inviting the public to submit creations made from empty beverage cans to the website www.iluvmycan.co.uk.  There are 10 categories to enter appealing to every talent from ‘best can trick’, through ‘anything goes’ to ‘most artistic’.  TV presenter, Miquita Oliver launched the campaign on Thursday 9^th June and there are plans to promote the competition throughout the summer.  The best creations will be auctioned to raise money for the Art Fund, the UK’s leading charity that helps secure great art for museums and galleries for everyone to enjoy.

For more information visit www.iluvmycan.co.uk

Read about i luv my can in Packaging Europe and Packaging News