Aluminium recycling helps grow trees

Residents recycling their aluminium are helping to save energy and space in landfill as well as helping to grow trees in Africa!

For every tonne of aluminium recycling collected in the borough, Alupro, a not-for-profit organisation representing aluminium recycling in the UK, plants a tree in Malawi.

From 1 July 2008 to 30 June 2009, 213 tonnes of aluminium were recycled from Hertsmere which means residents have helped plant 213 trees.  And with the help of recyclers across the country, a total of 250,000 trees have been planted in the UK and Africa since 2004.

Councillor Jean Heywood, Environment Portfolio Holder, said: "This is a fantastic result and a great credit to our residents.

"Recycling aluminium is 20 times more energy and carbon efficient than making it from the raw material bauxite and reduces the amount of waste sent to landfill.

"I would like to thank all residents who recycle their waste - everyone's individual efforts have a massive impact on the environment, we should all be very proud of this."

Alupro works with British charity Ripple Africa to grow the trees in Malawi and in the last three years a total of 150,000 fruit trees in 100 community nurseries have been planted.  Around two thirds of the trees are native guava and paw paw for local consumption, with a third of trees resulting from grafting larger, juicier improved mango and orange species on to local lemon rootstock.  Once cropping begins as the trees mature, small business enterprises are encouraged to use the fruits for juicing and drying and sell the produce on which helps provide much needed income for the area.

More information on Alupro 

• The contents of Hertsmere's black boxes - drinks cans, empty aerosols, kitchen foil, plastic bottles, plastics marked 1, 2 and 3 and steel food tins - is taken to Chas Storer, a processing plant in Potters Bar.  The items are then put into bales and sold on to be sorted and recycled.