Greene King raising money for Macmillan through new recycling campaign

The pub operator and brewer has announced it will be accepting donations of hard plastic tubs, such as Christmas chocolate and sweet containers, throughout the whole of January 2022.

All customers need to do is take empty tubs to any of Greene King’s managed pubs, bars, restaurants, or hotels across the UK, where the tubs will then be taken to a specialist recycling facility and processed into granulated recycled plastic.

'Win win' situation 

Each tub equates to approximately eight pence and money will be raised by selling the recycled plastics, with the profit going to Macmillan Cancer Support.

Greene King supply chain director Vance Fairman-Smith said: “We’re really pleased to be able to provide this recycling service to our local communities across the country.

“This is a ‘win win’ situation as we look to save the plastic tubs going to landfill and at the same time being able to support our national charity partner, Macmillan.”

Helping charity and the environment 

To achieve this sustainable charity initiative, Greene King has partnered with specialists in creating solutions for hard-to-recycle materials, Co-Cre8, and DCW Polymers, which will use its high-tech plastic reprocessing plant to shred and granulate the tubs, which are typically made from hard-to-recycle polypropylene, ready for sale to manufacturers.

Co-Cre8 co-founder Peter Goodwin said: “This is a great way of not just helping charity but also the environment. This year, we really expect the campaign to take off with as many 1,700 Greene King pubs gettin

g behind it.

“Clearly, last year’s campaign was greatly impacted due to covid restrictions, and yet despite the fact that all pubs were closed, more than five thousand tubs were collected.”

To check whether tubs are suitable for participating in the scheme, look for the symbol above stamped into the outside base of the tub.