Authorities that said they had no plans to recycle aerosols cited problems with their contractors (17% of total), health and safety concerns (7%) and the remainder saw no need to recycle aerosols. The survey found that 27% of local authorities are considering the possibility of recycling aerosols.
According to BAMA figures, recycling aerosol cans could provide nearly 30,000 tonnes of reclaimable high grade metal in the UK each year. This is the equivalent of 600 million aerosols or about 10 cans per person, representing about 4% of the metal packaging stream.
Commenting on the findings of the survey, BAMA spokesman Dr Paul Jackson said: “There is lots of pressure for local authorities to increase their recycling and they can easily up their tonnage by having aerosols which are much heavier than other tins and make up only a very small percentage.”
BAMA plan to tackle the problem of contractors who charge extra or simply refuse to take aerosols, Dr Jackson said, but as with local authorities, health and safety seems to be the Association's main concern.
Currently, with the little funding they have, BAMA offers labels for local authorities to stick on can banks encouraging the public to recycle aerosols. It also provides free promotional and educational material available for local authorities.
Dr Jackson explained that to encourage local authorities to adopt aerosol recycling BAMA produce a guide to “address common questions people have about aerosol waste” and a “newsletter about local authorities that have had success in this area.”
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