Gosport’s Midweek Conservation Volunteers recently planted around 125 new trees in the beautiful Alver Valley – Gosport’s precious 200 hectare open countryside area. The trees were received as a reward and thank you for collecting aluminium cans for recycling! Local authorities in Hampshire recently received a share of more than 2,000 trees to plant in their local parks, gardens and woodland. The trees were given as a reward and a thank you by The Aluminium Packaging Recycling Organisation (Alupro), the organisation that promotes aluminium recycling.
“Aluminium is a great material to recycle and quite literally every time you recycle an aluminium drinks can, you are helping the environment,” said Jenny Marlow, Recycling Officer for Gosport Borough Council. “Aluminium cans are 100% recyclable and use only 5% of the energy needed to make a new can, a saving of up to 95% on using raw materials. This is a terrific energy saving which, if you multiply with every can collected and recycled, is a real bonus for the environment.”
The trees were planted by Conservation Volunteers, who meet ever Wednesday at Grange Farm, Gosport. Organised by Gosport Borough Council’s Countryside Section, they carry out conservation tasks including maintaining access to the public and enhancing the biodiversity of the local open spaces.
All trees planted are native to the UK and include oak, pine, silver birch and rowan. Some were used to extend a piece of woodland previously planted with oaks by local children in 2005, as part of the Trafalgar Woods project. Others have been used to help establish patches of new woodland through the Alver Valley and to complement existing trees – some of which are ancient woodland.
Collecting the cans for recycling has not only benefited communities here in the UK, but also overseas, as a small proportion of the trees earned are going to local communities in West Africa. Trees such as mango, cashew, baobab, néré and acacia which produce both food and medicines and also help boost honey production to generate much-needed income, are to be sent to West Africa.
“This scheme has been terrifically successful and we would ask everyone to please remember - when you’ve finished that delicious drink - recycle the aluminium can. It really does make a difference!”
