A new program has begun recruiting a 'nation' of collaborators to make aerosol can recycling as commonplace as the recycling of aluminum cans, bottles and newspapers. The new initiative, called Aerosolv Nation , aims to address the estimated 3.5 billion aerosol cans sold each year in the U.S. alone, most of which end up in hazardous waste landfills or trash dumps rather than being properly recycled. 

Representatives from more than 50 colleges and universities across North America and several other countries signed up as the program was announced last week in Denver, CO at the AASHE Conference (the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education).  Dubbed 'Aerosolv Ambassadors' they will launch the program in their communities in the coming weeks.

"With Aerosolv Nation we ask students, teachers, community leaders, university sustainability staffers, artists and other creative, committed individuals to join with us to promote proper aerosol can disposal," said Michael Campbell, inventor of the Aerosolv technology and president of Katec, Inc.  "Many businesses and communities still throw their aerosols in the trash, which in many cases is illegal, dangerous and wastes valuable landfill space. They are fully recyclable and by doing so removes an entire waste stream."

Liz Alnutt, a senior at New York State University in Buffalo and the director of the school's Undergraduate Student Association's Environmental Department, was among the first Aerosolv Ambassadors to join the effort.

"We are really excited about the program. The Aerosolv Pledge is a tangible easy thing for students to wrap their heads around, even the skeptics," Alnutt said.  "It was shocking that we hadn't thought about aerosol can recycling before. So many people don't know this is an issue.  Anything we can bring to students as a safe alternative to throwing aerosol cans in a landfill is great."

Aerosolv is the only aerosol can recycling technology to be awarded the US EPA's Environmental Technology Verification.  It is safe, affordable, efficient technology to prepare aerosol cans for proper recycling. 

More than 47,000 Aerosolv systems are in use already worldwide, by universities and municipalities, businesses, government agencies, and large-scale manufacturers, recycling an estimated 60 million aerosol cans.

SOURCE: Aerosolv

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