Dubai, UAE, December 2025: Every Can Counts (ECC) UAE partnered with Emirates Dubai 7s to promote aluminium can recycling at one of the region’s biggest sporting and lifestyle festivals.
Over the three day event, ECC UAE ran a series of interactive activities, engaging thousands of festival goers in hands-on recycling experiences. Visitors interacted with the PixelCan Wall, a crowd-built mural created entirely from recycled cans, and filled ECC’s signature Cage Letters placed across the venue, turning collected cans into a visible pledge for sustainability. ECC volunteers wearing the recognizable ECC backpacks also collected cans on the move, making recycling easy, accessible and impossible to miss.
Every Can Counts is a global behavior-change initiative to encourage recycling of drink cans, working with organizations and events to improve collection. The UAE chapter was launched in partnership with Emirates Global Aluminium and beverage can-makers Crown and CANPACK.
Aluminium is infinitely recyclable, and recycling it uses 95 percent less energy than producing it from raw materials. These facts remain at the heart of ECC UAE’s mission to make recycling a natural, everyday habit across the country.
Strengthening the UAE’s Circular Economy: Key Insights from the Latest Study
According to the latest Frost & Sullivan study on aluminium can recycling in the UAE, the national recycling rate has reached 35 percent, with a continued rise in recovery and a two percent reduction in cans sent to landfill between 2022 and 2024.
Non residential environments such as events, malls and hospitality venues now contribute nearly 23 percent of all recovered cans, reinforcing the importance of activations like Emirates Dubai 7s. The report also notes that about 20 percent of collected cans in the UAE are recycled back into new beverage cans, supporting a closed loop system and furthering the country’s circular economy ambitions. These findings highlight how visible, engaging and community-based recycling setups can drive real behavioural change.
Global Context and Survey Insights
The activation also aligns with the Every Can Counts Global Survey, conducted across 16 countries with more than 16,000 participants. The findings show rising awareness around circularity, but only 17 percent of respondents correctly identified aluminium drink cans as the most recyclable beverage container, revealing a global awareness gap. Additionally, 71 percent said they would recycle more if the experience was fun and interactive, further validating ECC’s on ground approach.
As the UAE advances its sustainability goals and the Year of Community initiatives, ECC UAE remains committed to partnering with organisations that share a common vision for a cleaner and more sustainable future. With several major events planned for 2026, ECC looks forward to expanding its impact with brands, venues and government entities across the country.
ENDS
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