Tom Giddings, executive director of Alupro, discusses new regulations guiding the collection of post-consumer aluminium foil at the kerbside and explains why improving consumer engagement is key to maximising capture rates.
From 31 March 2026, Simpler Recycling rules will require local authorities to separately collect four core recyclable waste streams from all households in England. Alongside standard black bag residual waste, this includes paper and card, food waste and all other dry recyclable materials (plastic, metal and glass).
While waste collectors will retain the flexibility to make the best choices to suit local needs, including the best processes and frequencies to maximise engagement, Simpler Recycling immediately becomes the national default. With the overarching goal of maximising collection uniformity nationwide, the move aims to reduce complexity regarding the current ‘postcode lottery’ of recycling collections.
One material which is often neglected at the kerbside is aluminium foil. Insight suggests that while all councils collect metal packaging, only four in five currently accept foil. What’s more, data suggests that even those who do collect it report varying capture rates, so there is clearly work to do to boost recycling rates overall.
Whether a knowledge, education or engagement issue, the truth of the matter is simple. Simpler Recycling is looming and meeting your recycling targets must be top of the priority list. While progress is positive, further work is needed to ensure all items detailed under new rules are effectively captured at the kerbside. This, of course, includes aluminium foil.
Rather than just another deadline, local authorities should see Simpler Recycling as an opportunity. After all, it has the potential to drive a significant, long-term uplift in household recycling. By maximising volumes collected at the kerbside, local authorities can subsequently increase revenues – revenues that are fundamentally connected to consumer engagement rates.
At Alupro, we’ve been running consumer engagement campaigns to help local authorities educate householders and drive widespread behavioural change for more than a decade. Alongside our MetalMatters initiative, which encourages residents to think carefully about how and why they recycle, we operate a dedicated campaign to increase aluminium foil recycling – Foil in love with recycling.
With the objective of driving higher capture rates and combatting contamination issues, this flexible campaign harnesses multiple communications tactics to engage with residents and drive positive behavioural change. The initiative has already been rolled out by councils across the UK, all of whom have reported positive change in education, engagement and best practice recycling behaviours.
Best of all, funding for the campaign is provided almost entirely by the metal packaging industry. This means that councils can hit the ground running with a highly cost-effective solution to maximise aluminium foil capture rates. It’s a win-win situation, offering the potential to increase capture volumes, reach impending targets and vastly improve recycling revenues.
There’s no escaping the fact that Simpler Recycling rules will soon be in force nationwide. Collecting foil becomes mandatory in just a few months and local authorities need to be prepared. While the roll-out of new collection infrastructure is a necessary first step, educating households, improving engagement and delivering behavioural change is essential for long-term success, despite being far more difficult to achieve.
By adopting a dedicated communications campaign like Foil in love with recycling, it’s possible to turn the challenge into an opportunity. With the support of the Alupro team and funding from the metal packaging industry, embracing change is easy. With change coming around the corner fast, don’t leave foil capture volumes to chance.
For more information about Alupro’s Foil in love with recycling programme, or to register your interest, visit www.alupro.org.uk
THE FOIL RECYCLING PROGRAMME - Alupro
