Essex County Council has launched a new countywide campaign to encourage Essex residents to recycle their metal packaging.
The campaign is in partnership with Alupro. This is an industry funded, not-for-profit organisation representing the UK’s aluminium packaging industry.
In Essex, thousands of tonnes of recyclable metal packaging is wasted each year. For some districts, it makes up to 3.3% of what goes into general rubbish bins.
This is costly for the council to dispose of. It is also more harmful to the environment than recycling and a waste of metal that can be recycled infinitely.
The MetalMatters campaign launched on Monday 2 March 2026. The campaign will use social media to engage with residents. Residents can support the campaign by:
- engaging with the MetalMatters campaign on Love Essex social media channels
- recycling all accepted metal packaging at home
- ensuring metal items are empty and clean
- checking local guidance for district‑specific recycling instructions
- reusing or taking larger metal items to an Essex County Council recycling centre
Councillor Peter Schwier, Climate Czar and Cabinet Member for Environment, Waste Reduction and Recycling at Essex County Council, said: “From food tins and drinks cans to empty aerosols, households across Essex generate a large amount of metal packaging every week.
“Understanding how best to separate items for recycling, as well as the benefits of doing so, are key to increasing the amount of metal packaging recycled at the kerbside. By partnering with Alupro and rolling out its MetalMatters initiative, we aim to improve recycling rates across the county and ensure that valuable materials can be used again and again.”
Tom Giddings, Executive Director of Alupro, added: “Since its launch in 2012, MetalMatters has helped to drive a widespread national uplift in metal packaging collection volumes. We’ve collaborated with hundreds of local authorities and reached millions of households nationwide.”
“We’re looking forward to working with Essex County Council to deliver an entirely digital programme, which will work to increase recycling rates by encouraging local residents to take positive action.”
Residents can learn more about the recycling metal packaging on the Love Essex website.
For more information about Alupro, and its latest initiatives, visit the Alupro website.
Cllr Peter Schwier AIEMA
Cabinet Member for Environment, Waste Reduction & Recycling
Hedingham Division, Essex County Council
Renewal, Equality & Ambition
Safer, Greener, Healthier
Leave a Reply