CMI Debuts Recycling Campaign

The Can Manufacturers Institute (CMI), Washington, D.C., has launched a new education and marketing campaign called “Pass It On.” The campaign, launched at the Pack Expo 2011 show in Las Vegas in late September, is designed to highlight the benefits of recycling steel and aluminum cans.

According to a CMI news release, the campaign showcases the can industry’s commitment to sustainability as well as its recycling efforts. The Pass It On campaign has been designed to inform consumers that metal cans can be recycled forever without loss of strength or quality, says Robert Budway, president of the CMI. “Can recycling minimizes energy use, CO2 emissions and decreases the need for virgin material,” he states.

The launch of the sustainability initiative comes as the domestic recycling rate for aluminum beverage cans hit 58 percent last year—the highest rate in more than a decade and double that of any other beverage container, according to CMI. Steel food cans had a recycling rate of 66.8 percent, an all-time record, says CMI.