The company has already closed centres in Leeds, Birmingham and Portsmouth and is to shut its other three sites in Sheffield, and West and East London by the end of August. Yellow can collections from supermarkets, which had been run weekly or monthly in some areas, will also be stopped.
 Alcan business development manager (South) Terry Marks with Carl Warhurst, MD of Warhurst Metals in Birmingham, one of Alcan's new branded collection centres |
Diana Caldwell, spokesperson for Alcan, said: “Alcan has announced a radical change in its strategy in recognition of the changes in the market. We are moving way from our cash for can scheme and looking to do more to support kerbside collection of aluminium.
In place of the closed centres, Alcan has been recruiting local businesses to run local branded collection centres. A total of 31 new Cash for Cans dealers will be up and running by the end of the summer – 22 new centres have already opened in West Yorkshire, North Yorkshire, the West Midlands, Portsmouth and Southampton. Nine more centres will open in June 2003 in South Yorkshire and North-East Derbyshire.
A further 15 Alcan-branded Cash for Cans partnerships in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland will remain unaffected by the changes, the company said.
Ms Caldwell explained: “Our network is expanding, although it may not seem like that as we are closing centres. But by recruiting local businesses there will be more opportunities for people to recycle. Hopefully people will see it as a positive step, we certainly do.”
The restructuring forms part of a 1 million investment programme Alcan originally announced back in January 2003 (see letsrecycle.com story). The company is aiming to increase UK aluminium packaging recycling from a rate of 34% to 50% by 2006-07.
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