Our programme in Italy, launches an inspiring summer recycling campaign, supported by CIAL, Coca-Cola HBC Italia, and the Agency for the Regional Marine Parks of Calabria.
Covering the 11 municipalities that surround Calabria’s marine parks and equipped with the signature Every Can Counts recycling backpacks, the ambassadors of the initiative “In the marine parks of Calabria…every can counts” are on a dual mission. To recover empty beverage cans, while encouraging consumers to keep public spaces clean, and to raise awareness among residents and tourists about the importance of the circular economy.
“In the marine parks of Calabria…every can counts” is a joint initiative of Ogni Latina Vale, with EPMR – Ente Parchi Marini Regionali della Calabria (Agency for the Regional Marine Parks of Calabria), CIAL – Consorzio Nazionale Imballaggi Alluminio (National Consortium of Aluminium Packaging), and Coca-Cola HBC Italia
Running in July and August, the backpackers will visit both beaches and urban locations to inspire as many people as possible on the way. But there’s more. About 100 small waste separation and recycling areas will be set up on the beaches, with dedicated bins for the separate collection of cans, marked by a customised sail so that bathers can recognise the areas accredited to the project.
Bikes made out of 800 recycled cans will be donated to the municipalities
Aluminium is a permanent material, that can be recycled an infinite number of times, while preserving its properties forever. Every drink can we put in the right bin, can be easily recycled and transformed into new aluminium, ready to give new life to many durable objects at a significantly low environmental cost.
The cans collected during this initiative will be used to create Riciclettes, the now iconic city bikes made with the equivalent of 800 recycled beverage cans. The bikes will then be donated to the municipalities involved, to be used in the implementation of their sustainable mobility projects.
“The Agency for the Regional Marine Parks of Calabria was established in 2018 to protect and enhance the extraordinary biodiversity of Calabria’s marine and coastal environments, a treasure trove of biodiversity to be guarded and preserved for future generations,” states Ilario Treccosti, Extraordinary Commissioner of the EPMR. “In a fruitful team effort with the parks municipalities – which include the 2021 Blue Flags Praia a Mare, Diamante, Tropea and Soverato – a series of initiatives have been launched, including the ‘In Calabria’s marine parks…every can counts’ campaign.” For the protection and enhancement of the sea of Calabria, the Commissioner hopes that the collaboration with the Aluminium Packaging Consortium and Coca Cola HBC Italia, which began with this campaign, can be extended to other significant environmental education initiatives.
“Since its inception in 1997, CIAL has been acting on two fronts. On the one hand, it brings together the protagonists of the entire industrial chain to stimulate the sector’s sustainable development and, on the other, it promotes initiatives throughout the country aimed at raising public awareness of the importance of recycling aluminium, a precious raw material. There is no doubt that its recycling provides undisputed economic, social and environmental benefits. It is extraordinarily rewarding for us when, as in this case, we can cooperate with other organisations that are able to grasp the full value of our mission. In this project we have really teamed up with an organisation set up to protect a breathtakingly beautiful stretch of our national territory and with one of the most important and best-known brands in the world,” says Giuseppina Carnimeo, General Manager of CIAL.
“We are proud to be able to carry out this initiative with the Ente Parchi Marini della Calabria and CIAL, because it fits in perfectly with our sustainability commitments,” says Giangiacomo Pierini, Director of Institutional Affairs and Communications at Coca-Cola HBC Italia. “For years we have been working to make the concept of circular economy a reality, both through awareness and collection projects like this one and, upstream, in the design phase of our packaging, in which we continue to reduce the raw materials used. I”.
The results of the “In the Calabria Marine Parks…every can counts” campaign will be announced during the annual “European Sustainable Mobility Week” from 16 to 22 September.