From:Packaging News

More than half of British consumers are not recycling their empty drinks cans whilst on the go.

New research from Every Can Counts has found that 80% of respondents now use recycling facilities at home, but 55% aren’t actively recycling their empty cans whilst out and about, equating to a potential 3.5 billion more cans that could be recycled in the UK every year.

The report, which surveyed 3,000 people, found that consumers drink an average of 6.5 cans a week each, rising to 9.3 in the warmer months, an increase of 43% – and half of all cans purchased in the UK, are consumed on-the-go.

The research found that 49% of shoppers had never used their local shopping centre’s recycling facilities, with the availability and visibility of recycling points being cited as the main obstacle in town centres, shopping areas and transport areas. Additionally:
•80% recycle at home, whilst only 34 per cent recycle ‘out and about’
•55% of consumers drink more cans in the summer
•56% of people consumer 3 or more cans per week
•44% of people drink cans on the go.

The findings also showed that 16-24 year olds consumed more cans when away from home – 60% of all cans drunk by this market are out-of-home.

This figure climbs to 61% for 25-34 year olds and is at just under half (49%) by 35-44 year olds.  It drops to 39% by 45-54 year olds, but 55-64 year olds are still consuming a quarter of their cans away from home.

Rick Hindley, executive director of Every Can Counts, said the organisation is pushing industry to set up more recycling points to make it easier for consumers to recycle on the go.

“Can consumption ‘on the go’ is popular amongst most age groups – and there is little variation in consumption habits by gender.  This meant that the target audience for our campaign was wider and more diverse, as a result our marketing activity had to be developed to reflect these findings,” he said.

“Our message to any business owner, shopping centre or tourist attraction manager, event organiser or public transport operator, is simple: every can you recycle could be back on sale, as another can, in just 60 days. By recycling cans you’re saving natural resources, cutting greenhouse gas emissions and saving on your landfill costs.”