Powys County Council has partnered with Alupro to launch a new campaign, MetalMatters, aimed at significantly increasing metal packaging recycling rates across the Welsh county.

MetalMatters is a six-week initiative that will target all approximately 67,000 households in Powys through targeted social media and digital messaging, school visits, and community outreach programmes.

The campaign will educate residents on the importance of recycling metal packaging, including food and drink cans, aluminium foil and trays, empty aerosols, and metal screw tops.

Alupro’s MetalMatters programme has already been adopted by more than 121 local authorities in the UK, demonstrably improving metal recycling rates in each instance.

"MetalMatters allows us to engage with our residents and encourage them to think about their recycling habits and understand how best to correctly recycle their household metal packaging,” said Matt Perry, chief officer - Place at Powys County Council.

"When we consider that for every recycled aluminium can we save enough energy to run a TV for three hours, we can all make a huge difference by recycling as much of our waste as possible."

"We're confident that the introduction of this campaign will help to drive an increase in recycling rates and households taking positive action across Powys,” added Tom Giddings, executive director at Alupro.

"For us, the most important message is that metal is infinitely recyclable, meaning the quality and properties of the metal will be unchanged during the recycling process. Making a few small changes can add up to a big environmental impact."

Funded by the metal packaging industry, MetalMatters serves as a valuable resource for local authorities looking to improve their kerbside recycling rates.

The programme’s flexible design allows it to be tailored to specific regions, collection routes, or demographics within a community.