Tennent's aim for recycled tins to be back on shelves within 60 days

Tennent’s cans will remind drinkers to ‘enjoy sustainably’ in a bid to get tins back on shelves within 60 days of being recycled.

The company, based in Glasgow’s east end, wants to step up its green ethos beyond using a recycling logo and has unveiled the new packaging as COP26 takes place in the city.

They will be launched in the new year and 120 million of the new cans will be made per year in the hope drinkers will step up their efforts.

The message ‘please enjoy sustainably’ will be added to ‘drink responsibly’, ahead of Scotland’s deposit return scheme.

Scotland is targeted to recycle 70% of household waste by 2025 but the most recent figures show recycling rates dropped in 2018 to 44.7%, down from the 45.5% rate achieved in 2016.

Earlier this year, Tennent’s officially moved out of single use consumer plastic, removing 150 tonnes from the environment annually, and now the brewer will be rolling out the new eco-conscious can, which could be on-shelf as early as January 2022.

It has campaigned to get shoppers to buy local, and committed £14m to scaling up the green ethos of the brand – including the installation of an anaerobic digestion plant in 2019, the largest carbon capture facility in Scotland in 2020, and a £7m investment in packaging equipment to introduce cardboard outers for all canned products this year.

Cameron Matthews, Tennent’s senior brand manager, said: “Being a responsible alcohol brand in 2021 means more than advocating moderate consumption, it means doing all you can to be environmentally positive too.

“Within our business, we are committed to leading the way when it comes to sustainability – but there is a really important role for the public to play too.

“We wanted to use our reach to help keep the issue and the ways that we can work together front-of-mind

“When recycled, aluminium can be back on shelf within 60 days, which is a fantastic example of the circular economy in action – with impact on litter and CO2 emissions.

“It may seem like such a simple action, but by recycling cans, everyone can make a big difference.”