Campaign launched to increase metal recycling

Cherwell District Council hopes the campaign will lead to an increase in recycling of metal household packaging

A local authority has launched a new campaign to encourage people to recycle more metal items.

Cherwell District Council's MetalMatters will use digital, postal and in-person methods to raise awareness of the benefits of recycling household packaging made from metal.

It said it would bring significant environmental benefits, including reducing energy use and greenhouse gas emissions.

The campaign is being carried out in partnership with the Aluminium Packaging Recycling Organisation (Alupro).

Ian Middleton, the council's head of neighbourhood services, said: "While we have seen some fantastic improvement in our recycling contamination rates, we really need to see more people putting their metal packaging in the blue bin instead of the green one."

He said it was "easy to do and brings many benefits".

The authority said its new campaign would also help it reach its net zero emissions target.

Tom Giddings, Alupro's executive director, said the organisation was confident the campaign would help to drive an increase in recycling rates and "households taking positive action across Cherwell".

"Making a few small changes can add up to a big environmental impact," he said.