This summer, Every Can Counts (ECC) has recycled over 75,000 aluminium cans, working with leading drink brands and bringing its team of ambassadors to some of the UK and Ireland’s biggest festivals.   

Over recent months, the recycling not-for-profit has partnered with brands such as Red Bull and Most Wanted Wines, as well as attending a variety of events alongside a total of 77 dedicated ambassadors, including Latitude, Electric Picnic, and Download Festival.

This year also marked ECC’s debut at Radio 1’s Big Weekend, Radio 2 in the Park, LIDO and Victorious Festivals. 

At each event, the ECC team raised awareness amongst festival goers on the importance of recycling using a variety of innovative methods. 

From bespoke recycling backpacks to eye-catching cage installations and fun voting bins, ambassadors collected used drink cans and encouraged audiences to embrace sustainable habits.

To further engage attendees – and for some extra fun – ECC also offered rewards for recycling, including branded t-shirts and keyrings at Download Festival to those who handed over a full bag of empty cans.   

And to top it all off, Canzee, the ECC mascot made from 400 recycled cans, made an appearance at a number of the festivals, becoming a firm crowd favourite by entertaining attendees and even making several on stage cameos.

In addition to recycling drink cans, the ambassadors also gathered over 8,500 responses to ECC’s recycling survey. This named beaches and green spaces, streets, and shopping centres the top three locations where people feel more recycling points are needed, with almost half (48 per cent) of respondents saying they would recycle more out of the home if they had access to more recycling points.

Chris Latham-Warde, Programme Manager at Every Can Counts, said: “It’s been another incredible summer working alongside leading festivals, event organisers, and our drinks brand partners across the UK and Ireland to highlight the value of recycling.

“With the energy of festival goers and the commitment of our ambassador team, we’ve collected and recycled more than 75,000 cans nationwide, while also encouraging thousands of people to embrace recycling as part of their everyday routine.

“Each can that’s recycled can be back on shelves in as little as 60 days and by working together, we can enjoy more planet-friendly festivals and move closer to achieving our ambition of a 100% recycling rate for drink cans.”