Great recycling effort reaps rewards
The great response from residents in Wealden to an appeal to recycle all their aluminium cans and foil means that 76 native trees will be planted locally this winter in schools and parishes throughout the district.
This achievement was made possible through Wealden District Council’s support for ‘Trees for Africa and the UK’, a nation-wide recycling appeal organised by not-for-profit organisation Alupro [Aluminium Packaging Recycling Organisation]. The appeal donates one tree for every tonne of aluminium recycled in order to encourage residents to recycle their aluminium through their kerbside collections and local bring sites.
Over an 18 month period, enough aluminium has been recycled to enable 76 native trees such as English oak, Scots pine and silver birch to be planted in parks, gardens or woodlands in Wealden.
Cllr Mrs Pam Doodes, Cabinet Member for Health and Community Safety, said: “This is a great achievement and of huge benefit to our local environment thanks to our residents’ recycling efforts. I hope that we all continue to recycle and I encourage everybody to get into the recycling habit.”
Thanks to households supporting the Alupro initiative, UK aluminium recycling has been boosted by a massive 32 per cent to 65,818 tonnes. The result means that 10,729 trees will be planted in the UK, and a further 55,089 donated to Africa.
The Africa programme, based in the Gabio Forest, Burkina Faso, West Africa; will grow trees such as mango, cashew, and baobob. The chosen trees will supply food and be used for medicinal uses. Flowering trees will encourage the production of honey, which is sold in local markets, will also generate much-needed income to the village communities.
Recycling aluminium cans and foil saves 95% of the energy it takes to make it from the raw material and with cans often back on the shelves in just six weeks, the energy savings quickly grow.
All the trees have been donated by Alupro member, Sims Metals of Stratford upon Avon www.sims-group.com. For further information about the campaign please contact Alupro on 0845 7227722 or go to the website www.alupro.org.uk.
