On this page you will find most important information about RECAL Foundation and its activities.

RECAL - Foundation for Recovery of Aluminium Beverage Cans

It was formed in 1995 as an initiative of drink cans' producers: Continental Can Poland Sp. z o.o. (currently Ball Packaging Europe Radomsko Sp. z o.o.) and the PLM AB Malmö from Sweden (currently Rexam) as well as five manufacturers of aluminium: Alcan, Aluminium Company of America, Pechiney Rhenalu, Reynolds (Aluminium) the Deutschland and VAW Aluminium. Currently the Foundation's activities are being supported by Ball Packaging Europe Radomsko Sp. z o.o. (in past Continental Can Poland Sp. z o.o.), the European Association of Aluminium, National Environmental Protection and Water Management Found as well as the most important professional aluminium cans recycling organization: "recan" S.A.

Thanks to the presence and activity of the RECAL Foundation on the Polish recycling market and the actions undertaken by the Foundation the level of recycling of aluminium cans grew up from 2 percent in 1995 to 67 percent in 2008. The Foundation prepares and initiates educational ecological programmes in educational organizations (schools) as well as territorial councils by:


  organization of workshops for the organizations for protection of environment


  campaigns, programmes and the educational workshops for children, students as well as adults


  co-operation with media

Aluminium beverage cans
Consumers in Poland, similarly to the rest of the world, more often buy canned beverages. This is because of the advantages of canned beverages: attractive visually, light, do not break and moreover permit to chill drink quickly.
The world's usage of beverage cans stands on the level of over 220 billion cans a year. 81 percent of the usage are aluminium beverage cans.

Recycling
Aluminium beverage cans are entirely recyclable. Recycling of aluminium is infinite and does not cause the loss of quality of metal.

Co-operation with schools (on different level)
From the very beginning one of the most important aspects of the activity of the Foundation is the co-operation with schools.
Basis for this co-operation is the school programme for recycling education. In 1996 we prepared a School Package and in 2008 we prepared College Packed. It is a free-of-charge package with educational materials which is being send to schools after receiving the application form from teachers. The educational materials help teachers to organize workshops about recycling. The students receive colorful and transparent charts about aluminium and its recycling. While schools receive containers and bags for the collection of cans as well as magnets to recognize alu-cans. From the beginning of activity of the RECAL Foundation we passed on to schools over 8,000 school packages.

Co-operation with kindergartens
One of the most important aspects of the educational role of the Foundation is the co-operation with the youngest - the kindergarten and primary school children, their parents and teachers. There was a special Pre-school Package created for kindergartens and primary schools with the co-operation with the specialists from Green Action Foundation from Legnica. The package consists of the introduction materials, 9 game plans for children and detailed plan of the workshop for teachers.
By the end of the school year, similarly as in co-operation with schools, we ask the kindergartens to inform us about their achievements.

Holiday campaigns - recycling education
Holiday time is a perfect moment to undertake educational campaigns, which are an excellent supplement to the school-year environmental education.
At present we undertake five holiday campaigns of recycling education. These are:


  Campaign "Clean Beaches"


  Campaign "Clean Mountains"


  Campaign "Clean Mazury"


  Campaign "Clean Bieszczady Mountains"


  Campaign "Clean Sudety Mountains"

The holiday campaigns are being financed by National Environmental Protection and Water Management Found, "recan" Recovery Organization S.A. as well as the territorial councils.

The most important goals of the campaigns are:

  recycling education on several issues and in particular to achieve the habit of segregation of wastes,

  promote selective segregation of wastes and recycling of aluminium cans as well as other recyclable materials,

  improvement of cleanness of areas where campaigns are being held,

  relief to the local waste dumps by intensive segregation of recyclable waste,

  promote the local governments which take care about environment and its ecological image.


The holiday campaigns are being directed to:
  children and students (including summer camps),

  tourists,

  local communities,

  recyclable waste purchase points,

  local councils,

  non - governmental organizations,

  media.

The target group of the campaigns are mostly children and students in the age between 8 and 17 years, spending holidays in organized guided groups (summer camps). This group is particularly important addressee of the campaign, because the habit of waste recycling and selective segregation should be learned in the early childhood.

The basic form of the children's and students' education and the educational workshops undertaken on summer camps. For these organized guided groups RECAL has prepared a special package which joins education and fun. In the current year we have planned to make at least 600 workshops for summer camps children. Foreseen participants' number is about 25,000 children and students. During previous editions (until 2008) we have made 1,980 educational workshops and total participants was about 91,000 children and students.

RECAL Foundation offers a continuing ecological education to all participants of the campaigns in the next school-year. Foundation delivers educational materials, containers and bags for selective segregation of aluminium cans, posters and magnets.

"Silver Can" competition
The "Silver Can" competition is directed to the institutions which undertake selective segregation of aluminium cans, ecological education in segregation and recycling of alu-cans. The competition is a part of "Recycling Cup".

Various organizations can take part in the "Silver Can" competition, which develop local selective segregation of wastes. Among the organizations there are administrative districts, waste disposal companies, non - governmental organizations and even whole regions organized into unions.