Encouraging Recycling of Empty Aerosols

Americans generated about 251 million tons of trash and recycled and composted almost 87 million tons of this material, equivalent to a 34.5 percent recycling rate, according to most recent EPA estimates.  About 9% of the waste generated is metal.  Aerosol products only make up a small percentage of that, but 3.8 billion aerosol products are produced in the US each year, so there is still a very large opportunity to make a significant impact.

 

Representatives of CAPCO recently participated in the national Resource Recycling Conference in New Orleans, LA to engage directly with professionals in the recycling industry, including MRF (Material Recovery Facility) operators, waste haulers, equipment suppliers, and recycling coordinators for local municipalities.

 

CAPCO has been working to increase awareness that aerosol products are recyclable.  They are made of steel or aluminum, which are infinitely recyclable and valuable in the waste stream.  According to the Steel Recycling Institute’s (SRI) National Recycling Database, there are over 21,000 locations that accept steel cans, but only a third of those actively publicize the acceptance of aerosol cans. Communication is vital to keeping aerosols out of landfills.  We are working with partners like SRI to get a consistent message out to both consumers and recycling programs.  Aerosols ARE recyclable when empty and this should be communicated by the municipality, the waste hauler, and on the product itself.    In many cases it is, but there is still work to be done.   You can help by inquiring with  your municipality to see if they’re accepted, and encourage them to include that information clearly on bin/instructions, if so, or encourage them to include them, if not.  Please visit www.AerosolProducts.org/recycling for more information.

What to Do Once the Sun Sets

Summer is nearly over and so is your can of spray sunscreen. Now what?

Now it’s time to recycle. Spray sunscreens, like other household aerosol products, are recyclable so long as the can is empty. What’s more, recycling the cans is easy.

Thousands of communities now include aerosol product recycling in both household residential and curbside buy-back and drop-off programs. All you have to do is use up the last spray of the product and drop it in your recycling container.

Not sure if your local program accepts empty aerosol products? Give them a call and ask.

Help keep beaches clean and garbage cans empty. Recycle your spray sunscreen product and tell your neighbors to do so too.

To learn more click here.

A New World Cup Hero Emerges

No, we’re not referring to Messe or Ozil, but a new product that utilizes the aerosol product form to help referees move games along faster.  The product is a water-based foam that is sprayed on the field by referees to make a temporary line for penalty kicks, etc, and it has become referred to as “felony foam” among fans and via Twitter.

 

Photographer: Michael Steele/Getty Images

The product was invented by an Argentine company called 915 Fair Play.  It has been widely adopted in Latin America and made its debut with the rest of the professional soccer world at this year’s World Cup Tournament in Brazil.   

This innovation is a great example of utilizing the technology of the aerosol product form to develop a product that met a consumer need.  This disappearing foam quickly and accurately marks the field and then dissolves on its own in less than two minutes!

The Consumer Aerosol Products Council reminds consumers that aerosol products are recyclable when empty and they no longer include CFCs.  To learn more about the aerosol product form, please visit: www.AerosolProducts.org.

Pledge to Recycle Empty Aerosols on America Recycles Day

Today is America Recycles Day, and on this special day we encourage citizens to take the pledge to recycle more products, including empty aerosol containers. The number of municipalities accepting empty aerosol containers in the U.S. is increasing – making recycling aerosols easier for consumers.  

You can pledge to recycle more by visiting the America Recycles Day site administered by Keep America Beautiful, one of the Consumer Aerosol Product Council’s (CAPCO) partners.  CAPCO is also a sponsor of Recycle-Bowl, a classroom recycling challenge that culminates on America Recycles Day. 

Nearly four billion aerosol cans are produced in the U.S. annually for products ranging from shaving cream to bicycle lubricant.  More than 5,300 municipalities now include aerosol cans in their recycling programs. Most steel aerosol cans feature the “Please Recycle When Empty” logo to indicate they can be safely recycled. Here’s how:

1. Empty the aerosol of its contents through normal use.
2. Check instructions from the local collector to determine if empty aerosols are accepted.
3. Place empty aerosol container in bin along with other recyclables.  

Large cities such as New York City and San Francisco have included empty aerosol cans in their curbside programs for years. CAPCO and the CSPA Aerosol Products Division have been working for 20 years to increase awareness among consumers and to get more municipalities to include aerosol cans in their recycling programs. “Now more than 65 percent of Americans have access to aerosol recycling through curbside pickup, drop off and waste-to-energy recovery programs,” said Doug Fratz, Aerosol Products Division Staff Executive at the Consumer Specialty Products Association, which represents the consumer aerosol industry. “We continue to work toward a day when everyone can easily recycle their aerosol containers.” 

For additional information about aerosol product recycling, go to www.AerosolProducts.org. 

Recycling of Empty Aerosol Products Rises: Work to Increase Awareness Continues

A recent study done for the British Aerosol Manufacturers’ Association (BAMA) showed that in the UK nearly 70% of the population buy/use aerosols and 73% of those are recycling.  In the UK 87% of municipalities accept empty aerosol containers for recycling, this is up dramatically from only 7% accepting them less than two decades ago!

Similarly, the number of municipalities that accept empty aerosol containers in the U.S. is increasing as well.  In a recent webinar sponsored by Keep America Beautiful, Consumer Aerosol Products Council (CAPCO) shared that more than four billion aerosol cans are produced in the U.S. annually and more than 5,200 municipalities include steel aerosol cans in their recycling programs, serving more than 100 million people according to the Steel Recycling Institute (more than 75% of aerosols are steel).

Fortunately, large cities such as New York City and San Francisco have included empty aerosol cans in their curbside programs for years. But there is still work to be done to increase awareness among consumers. It is important for consumers and municipalities to understand that empty aerosol cans are recyclable to increase participation in recycling efforts. The good news is that both steel and aluminum are infinitely recyclable and valuable, so the case for recycling them is strong.

 

For example, steel food cans are currently accepted in 18,239 recycling programs already.  If all those programs also included empty steel aerosol cans, 193 million people would be served—that’s about 2/3 of the U.S. population!

   

CAPCO is an educational non-profit focused on providing the facts about today’s aerosol products, including their recyclability.  To learn more, please visit www.aerosolproducts.org/recycling.

A NOT So Funny Home Video

A recent episode of America’s Funniest Home Videos showed a man striking a can of spray paint with an axe.  The can burst leaving blue paint all over the man’s face.  The video was presented in kind of a slap-stick clowning around tone, but puncturing any aerosol can is nothing to clown around about and presents serious safety risks.  The Consumer Aerosol Products Council (CAPCO) wrote a letter to the producer of the show addressing our concerns about the video making light of a very dangerous act that is clearly against the instructions for safe usage of the product, as well as our concerns that children or others might also try to imitate the act. 

We received a prompt response from Vin Di Bona Productions addressing our concerns and agreeing to avoid using the clip again in future episodes.  CAPCO and the aerosol products industry are dedicated to providing consumers with accurate information about aerosol products, including proper use and disposal, to learn more please visit www.aerosolproducts.org.  

Recycling…Just One More Way We All Can Help Keep America Beautiful!

One of the easiest ways to contribute to a more beautiful America is by recycling. Many empty and discarded items can be recycled and aerosol product cans are included among them. Recently, CAPCO partnered with one of the nation’s largest volunteer-based community action and education organizations – Keep America Beautiful, Inc. (KAB).

Through our partnership, CAPCO is supporting KAB’s new initiative “Recycle-Bowl” – a recycling competition for K-12 classrooms with the ultimate goal of increasing recycling rates and furthering education about recycling within U.S. schools. As a co-sponsor of the Recycle-Bowl Toolkit, CAPCO provided an aerosol can recycling fact sheet and classroom activity that is included in the kit. Other materials within the toolkit include Recycle-Bowl competition posters, environmentally friendly lesson plans for teachers, a complimentary book for students to read, and more.

Participation in Recycle-Bowl is easy and registration is open now. So visit the KAB website today and register your classroom for Recycle-Bowl. Only the first 1000 schools to register will receive a Recycle-Bowl toolkit. Registration closes on Tuesday, October 9, 2012, and the competition gets underway from October 15 through November 9, 2012. Winning schools will receive a monetary award ranging between $500 and $2,500.

Just remember…there are many ways we can keep America beautiful through recycling, but there is only one KAB Recycle-Bowl. Will you join CAPCO in support and spread the word about participating in this great initiative?

CAPCO Celebrates 20 Years of Exhibiting at NSTA!

In late March, the 2012 National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) Conference took place in Indianapolis, where an estimated 8,500 science teachers gathered to explore fresh ideas, learn about advances in their profession and get introduced to new education strategies. For the 20th straight year, CAPCO participated in the conference, engaging with more than 1,000 science teachers. Our volunteers informed attendees that aerosol technology is an inexpensive and practical way to teach several basic scientific principles. They also reminded them that aerosol products haven’t had CFCs for more than 30 years. Finally, they encouraged the teachers about the benefits of recycling empty aerosol cans.

    

Charlie Ortmann (Diversified CPC) and Dick Reed (KIK Corp.) at the booth

CAPCO also unveiled its "Aerosol Products Recycling Challenge" for students.   The
contest aims to get students engaged in efforts to increase the recycling of empty aerosol products in their local communities by tasking them with the following:

Research - Learn the facts about aerosol products, and their
ability to be recycled.

Reach Out - Find out the status of aerosol can recycling in your
community and make a plan to improve it.

Results - How did you make a difference? Did local officials agree
to (or consider) adding empty aerosols to the curbside recycling
program? If they are already accepted; did you find a way to let more
people know?

Record It - Prepare a 30-90 second video that "makes the case" for
recycling aerosol products - The video should demonstrate your
knowledge of aerosol products (their attributes, safety guidelines)
with a focus on why they should be recycled.

You can learn more about the contest Entry Requirements by visiting the “Aerosol Products Recycling Challenge” website.

In addition, CAPCO highlighted all of the resources that it has available for teachers including; a newly enhanced website, an updated Teacher’s Kit with 10 lessons and 5 experiments, an interactive learning website www.ecoaerosols.com, and its educational videos.  

It also should be noted that the allure of some 3500+ products, donated by industry supporters, played a key role in the extra foot traffic CAPCO enjoyed at its booth. The product giveaways included: WD-40 (3oz travel size and No-Mess Pen); Sprayway (4oz Glass Cleaner); KIK Corporation’s assorted travel sized personal care products; Faultless Starch’s Magic Wrinkle Remover and assorted colors of spray paint and cleaning products from Chase. In addition to the product donations, several industry professionals also donated their time by volunteering at the CAPCO booth. Special thanks to Dick Reed (KIK Corporation), Charlie Ortmann and Bill
Frauenheim (Diversified CPC).

Bill Frauenheim (Diversified CPC)

Overall, it was a successful conference, and many teachers were pleased to learn that empty aerosols could be recycled. Several were familiar with CAPCO and already use the teacher's kit as a resource for classroom experiments.  However, a few still believed that some or all of aerosol products contained CFCs, demonstrating that it is important for CAPCO to continue on its mission to educate teachers, consumers and the media on the facts and benefits of aerosol products.