Date: 19 August 2006 16:10

LAST CALL FOR CANS TO BE TURNED INTO TREES

Waste chiefs are urging residents to recycle all their cans to create 
woodland in the county and help Africa.

Under the 'Trees for Cans' scheme, recycled aluminium cans from 
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough will result in trees being planted both in 
the county and abroad.

Alupro, the Aluminium and Packaging Recycling Organisation, launched last 
summer scheme to donate a tree per collected tonne of cans to local 
authorities in this country and to a sustainability project in Burkina Faso, 
Africa.

The Gabio Forest in Burkina Faso is under threat from bush fires, firewood 
cutting and clearance for agriculture - threatening the sustainability of 
the forest and the people it supports. The new scheme, which is sponsored by 
Alupro in partnership with charity Tree Aid, means that people in the UK can 
help the project achieve its environmental aims and at the same time help 
our own environment as well.

 It is the second time such scheme is running and Cambridgeshire residents 
help the county to plant 120 trees in 2004. However, waste chiefs are asking 
people to help beat our previous record by recycling more cans.

Aluminium cans are one of the items most people associate with recycling and 
in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough collection is available through the 
kerbside bins and boxes, making recycling easier.

Recycling aluminium requires only 5% of the energy and produces only 5% of 
the CO2 emissions as compared with primary production and reduces the waste 
going to landfill. Aluminium can be recycled indefinitely, as reprocessing 
does not damage its structure. Aluminium is also the most cost-effective 
material to recycle.

Victor Perez, Cambridgeshire County Council Waste Campaigns Officer, said: 
"It is a great opportunity to see our recycling efforts translated into a 
greener Cambridgeshire. I would like to encourage residents to make sure all 
food and drink cans go in the recycling bin or box so that less waste goes 
into landfill, less resources are depleted and less emissions generated 
whilst more trees are planted in the county and in Africa."

John Reynolds