Press Releases
Every Can Counts gets the Fire Service recycling
14/09/2009
Every Can Counts and West Midlands Fire Service have announced a partnership where the drinks can recycling programme will run across all 39 of their fire stations, from Coventry to Wolverhampton. The initiative was launched on 3rd September 2009 at Ladywood Fire Station in Birmingham.
Supporting the campaign is part of a bigger environmental plan which West Midlands Fire Service has in place to ensure their staff are committed to protecting the environment. One of the key parts of their environmental strategy is to encourage staff to reduce usage of raw materials and re-use and recycle where this is not possible.
Every Can Counts, a partnership between drinks can manufacturers, the recycling industry and leading waste management companies, aims to increase the amount of cans recycled by people when they're at work or out and about.
With recycling at home now well established, research shows that consumers also want to recycle more when they're out and about. With this in mind, Every Can Counts has been established to recover the 30% of drinks cans consumed outside the home. The ambitious programme has been created to ensure that these cans are recycled rather than being sent to landfill.
Elaine Debenham, Senior Safety, Health and Environmental Manager for West Midlands Fire Service, said: "A number of initiatives have been put in place in the last few years to promote environmental awareness among staff and to actively reduce the Services' carbon footprint. The Every Can Counts campaign is an ideal way for us to promote the can recycling message to our employees and encourage them to recycle."
Rick Hindley from Every Can Counts commented, " We're delighted that West Midlands Fire Service have decided to join Every Can Counts and are confident it will make a positive contribution towards their ongoing sustainability programme. As the first Fire Service in the UK to join the programme we hope that where they lead other services in the UK will soon follow."
Other initiatives across the West Midlands Fire Service include cycling to work and car sharing schemes. There are also a number of 'Environmental Champions' - employees across the organisation with the specific additional responsibility of promoting good practice to protect the environment.
As well as making good environmental sense, recycling is a cost-effective way of dealing with empty cans due to the inherent value of metal scrap. Used cans can be recycled back into 'new' drinks cans again and again in a process which saves natural resources and energy.
ENDS
