Denver expands program to increase aluminum can recycling

The city of Denver and Falls Church, Virginia-based The Recycling Partnership, with special support from the Can Capture Group—a consortium of national can manufacturers, aluminum suppliers and the Washington-based Can Manufacturers Institute—have announced the next phase of the city’s expanded recycling education program to increase the collection of more aluminum beverage cans citywide.

“Denver is proud to team up once again with The Recycling Partnership and the Can Capture Group and to be the first city in the country to run this challenge to recycle every aluminum we can in the metro area,” Mayor Michael Hancock says. “We’re ready to take our recycling to the next level by challenging our residents citywide to recycle every can they can starting this summer, so we can raise our recycling and composting rate to 34 percent by 2020.”

This next phase of the recycling education program follows the successful implementation of phase one in 2017 throughout pilot communities in Denver, says the Recycling Partnership.

“Last year, we measured recycling of cans at the curb, both before and after the program, and what we found was exciting,” says Karen Bandauer, strategic partnership lead at The Recycling Partnership. “As a result of simplified messaging and communication with residents through tags at their garbage carts, Denver residents responded by recycling 25 percent more loose aluminum cans. This year we’re thrilled to work again with the city of Denver with support from the Can Capture Group to take this program citywide. We hope that every Denver resident will take up the challenge and recycle every single can.”

Residents will see tags on their carts, easy to follow information cards in their mailboxes and other “think outside the trash” messages throughout the city all summer long.

“The city of Denver is already a leader in environmental performance,” says Carlos Medeiros, Can Manufacturers Group representative and president of Beverage Packaging North & Central America, Ball Corp., Broomfield, Colorado. “Its willingness to push even farther and to work with businesses and the nonprofit sector to do more for the environment and for the residents of Denver shows true leadership.”

According to the Recycling Partnership, aluminum is a permanent material and can be kept in an infinite use loop—if it is continually recycled. Nearly 75 percent of all aluminum ever produced is still in use today. All of this means that cans uniquely contribute to the economic health of municipal recycling programs.

The Recycling Partnership is a national nonprofit organization that leverages corporate partner funding to transform recycling in cities and towns across the U.S. By the end of 2018, The Recycling Partnership expects to have served more than 900 communities, provided 500,000 recycling carts, reached 40 million households and helped companies and cities invest more than $33 million in recycling infrastructure.

The Can Capture Group is a consortium, including Anheuser-Busch, Ardagh Group, Ball Corporation, Crown Holdings, Novelis, Tri- Arrows Aluminum and the Can Manufacturers Institute, providing special support for the Denver Recycling Education Program.