Date: 28/08/2008
Regular recyclers across the High Peak have helped to provide 99 fruit trees to feed families, develop small businesses and create jobs in Africa.
Over the past year, everyone, who recycled aluminium drinks cans and foil, has contributed to growing grafted orange trees for families in rural Malawi -- and, as more cans are recycled in the future, more fruit trees will be grown.
The Aluminium Packaging Recycling Organisation (Alupro) is donating a tree to the project for every tonne of aluminium recycled on the kerbside and in can banks across the UK.
The aim of the scheme is to encourage everyone to recycle, by showing how saving energy through recycling is linked to tackling environmental challenges in Africa. Recycling aluminium is 20 times more efficient than extracting it from the raw bauxite ore.
Nationally, recyclers will give around 48,000 fruit trees this year. These are grown in tree nurseries, run by local clubs and schools, which also nurture more exotic fruit species, such as guava and pawpaw, as well as the local lemon rootstock used for grafting.
Many trees will be grown by families to boost their diet, and in community orchards to create opportunities for trade. The project also seeks out budding entrepreneurs to develop small businesses to produce dry fruit and juice fruit, and to create jobs.
Meanwhile, this project also brings environmental benefits, by encouraging tree planting in a severely deforested area.
"I'm sure that regular recyclers, throughout the High Peak, will be pleased to hear that they have made a positive contribution to such a worthwhile project," said John Haken, Executive Councillor for the Environment. "I would urge everyone to continue recycling all their drinks cans and foil so that we can continue to help build a sustainable future for people in Malawi.
"Our constantly improving record in recycling is not only helping ourselves, by re-using the world's precious resources and reducing the amount we send to landfill, it is also helping people further afield to tackle the environmental challenges they face. Schemes like this illustrate the local and global benefits of recycling as much of our waste as possible."