Greene King collected a record number of plastic containers - 240,000 from landfill - in its annual Tub2Pub recycling initiative, which has been running for the past five years.
The polypropylene sweets and crackers tubs cannot be easily recycled in kerbside collections so people were invited to drop them off at their local Greene King pub to save them from landfill and, at the same time, raise money for charity.
This year’s Tub2Pub, which ran from January to mid-February, collected more than 240,000 tubs, equating to 27,990kg of plastic. Greene King said this was more than all previous years’ collections combined.
Proceeds from the sale of the recycled plastic granules has raised £10,916.10 for Macmillan Cancer Support, Greene King’s charity partner.
Working together
Highlights from this year’s campaign included 2,500 tubs collected by Teddy, a six-year-old boy from Hampshire. His desire to ‘save the planet’ sparked a large media interest and his story was documented and broadcast on BBC TV and online news stories, being shared as far afield as the southern hemisphere on Yahoo Australia.
Greene King group supply chain director Vance Fairman-Smith said: “These results show what can be achieved when businesses and communities work together. Huge thanks to everyone who has collected these tubs and taken them to their local pub.
“The beauty of Tub2Pub is its simplicity. Don’t put the tub in the rubbish bin, just take it to your local and you’re doing your bit for the planet and people. Teddy alone has shown us all what can be achieved,”
Positive change
Macmillan Cancer Support senior partnership development manager Kate Lightfoot said: “Thank you to everyone who took their tubs into Greene King pubs, this is quite possibly the ‘sweetest’ recycling drive ever.
“And we mustn’t forget the serious message behind it: responsible recycling and vital support for the almost 3.5m people living with cancer across the UK.”
She added: “Every tub represents not only a step towards a more sustainable future, but also a tangible contribution to Macmillan’s work.
“Our partnership with Greene King continues to make a real difference and proves that activity like Tub2Pub harnesses a powerful wave of positive change.”
To date, Tub2Pub has saved over 470,000 tubs from landfill and raised £34,824.90 for Macmillan Cancer Support. Look out for news of Tub2Pub 2026 later this year.
