Tom Giddings, executive director of Alupro, discusses the upcoming roll-out of a new communications pilot on behalf of the UK Aerosols Recycling Initiative (UKARI) and explains its potentially transformational role in informing future best practice.
Earlier this year (June), UKARI kicked off a series of analysis projects to gather valuable kerbside waste composition data from households across the UK. Funded by Alupro and facilitated by SUEZ recycling and recovery UK, the initiative aimed to establish an aerosol recycling baseline and analyse regional recycling discrepancies.
The first sampling trial, which took place at Sherbourne Recycling’s state-of-the-art material recycling facility (MRF) in Coventry, measured capture, sorting and recycling volumes from households across Solihull, with a specific focus on aerosol containers. In the months since, a subsequent project has been launched in Trafford with a final programme set to be rolled-out across Bath and North-East Somerset later this year.
While each of the trials will help to gather aerosol recycling data, this is just the start of the project. Indeed, following the conclusion of each trial, bespoke communications programmes will be launched and promoted across each of the selected regions to challenge consumer behaviours and encourage a direct uplift in aerosol capture and recycling rates.
Designed with the specific aim of educating householders, the digital-first, video-led campaigns will see positive aerosol recycling messaging shared across social media platforms. Centred around the strapline of ‘shake, spray, squirt’, the content will not only explain how best to recycle empty aerosols – from deodorants and shaving foams to hairsprays and furniture polishes – but also how to dispose of partly-dispensed containers with residual liquid still inside.
Supported with wider marketing tactics (such as posters for council offices), the posts will each link back to a dedicated campaign microsite. With a look and feel that reflects the wider campaign, users can find out more about what happens to aerosols once collected from the kerbside, as well as read a step-by-step guide to best practice aerosol recycling.
Following the conclusion of each campaign, follow-up sampling work will be undertaken to analyse the positive impact of communications on aerosol recycling. Alongside highlighting the importance of consistency in recycling messaging, this will demonstrate the effectiveness of this particular campaign as a proven tool for councils.
As with each of Alupro’s educational initiatives, funding for the communication pilots has been voluntarily covered by UKARI project partners (Ball Aerosol Packaging, the British Aerosol Manufacturers’ Association (BAMA), CleanEco Group, Ecosurety, Henkel, the LINDAL Group, Moravia Cans, Tandom Metallurgical Group, Tata Steel UK and Trivium Packaging), with councils effectively able to access proven consumer education programmes completely free of charge. Once complete, the project will guide future best practice in UK aerosol recycling, accelerating further progress towards a circular economy for aluminium packaging.
With the next 12 months set to see seismic change from a policy perspective, communications will prove transformational to harnessing the opportunity and maximising UK recycling rates. In a post-Deposit Return Scheme (DRS), post-Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) waste landscape, ensuring householders understand best practice aerosol recycling will help to drive up collection volumes, minimise contamination and ensure widespread engagement.
Ahead of the programme’s full roll-out in 2026, UKARI is calling for councils to get in touch and discuss how consistent communications can help to increase aerosol volumes collected at the kerbside. For more information about Alupro, or its latest consumer engagement initiatives, visit www.alupro.org.uk, or meet the team at this year’s LARAC Conference (8-9 October).
