"Cans are becoming fashionable," says Alex Bouwer, marketing manager for Nampak Bevcan's CAN DO! brand. "The change can be attributed to the image created by the CAN DO! scene, an initiative educating consumers on the benefits of beverage cans and encouraging people to choose their beverages in cans." Another reason cans are more popular now than they were six years ago is the fact that they are recyclable, something which is becoming increasingly more important to consumers as they become more environmentally-conscious.
"Consumers are starting to recognise the importance of recycling, specifically beverage cans," says Zimasa Velaphi, public relations and marketing manager of Collect-a-Can. "The Collect-a-Can initiative has also done much by way of educating South African consumers on the value of cans, the benefits of recycling has on the environment, and how the use of cans makes economic sense, when compared with other recyclable materials.
"This year Collect-a-Can celebrates 20 years, and our aim for the next 20 years is to reach 100% recovery," Velaphi continues. "We believe we can achieve this by continuing to reward can collectors, and by continuing to highlight the benefits of cans to consumers."
In celebration of 20 years of Collect-a-Can, Velaphi shares a few reasons to use cans. In a year, one beverage can, could be recycled eight times, saving enough energy to make 160 new cans. In fact, cans are endlessly recyclable and can be recycled forever without loss of strength or quality.
Another reason is that schools are paid cash for all their empty cans collected, which contributes to their funding. Collect-a-Can's CAN Craze competition gives schools a further opportunity to win prizes for individual pupils and the school, by building creative structures out of 300 cans or more. Collect-a-Can also pays over R20 million a year to informal can collectors, and by using cans the public is contributing to the upliftment of this informal sector.
