THE UK Government has been urged to incentivise the take-up of ‘genuinely recyclable materials’ in 2025, following the publication of a new poll commissioned by Alupro.
The poll of 2,000 UK adults was conducted by Yonder in November. Seven-in-10 respondents said the government should introduce an extended producer responsibility (EPR) system that promotes highly recyclable materials such as aluminium.
Alupro revealed that 69% of those polled said they believed aluminium is the perfect material to support a circular economy in which packaging is always recycled where possible. According to annual data published on the National Packaging Waste Database by the Environment Agency, the UK’s aluminium packaging recycling rate hit 68% in 2023. A record 162,357 tonnes were recycled nationwide, including 81% of beverage cans.
The poll comes several months after a survey commissioned by Alupro on deposit return schemes (DRS) for drinks containers. DRS in all four nations of the UK have been subjected to multiple delays, and wrangling over the scope of materials included. The poll revealed 73% of Britons want a DRS to be delivered no later than 2027.
Alupro is set to discuss the issue at a parliamentary meeting of cross-party politicians in Westminster on 5 December. The event will explore how the parties can help drive a real circular economy for aluminium in 2025.
Tom Giddings, Alupro executive director, said, “As an industry we are passionate about recycling more of this wonderful material and driving an even more circular economy for aluminium, and as this poll suggests, so is the Great British Public. For years Whitehall has been plagued by massive delays on key recycling legislation such as extended producer responsibility and deposit return schemes.
“Whilst legislation has been laid in the last few weeks, we’re still a while away from effective changes. But the British public could not be clearer; they want to see less litter and they want their packaging to not simply be recyclable but actually recycled. To do this ministers must incentivise the take up of highly recyclable packaging choices such as the aluminium beverage can – the most recycled container in history.”
