The partnership between Drops, a 16-member women's bicycling team based near Milton Keynes, and one of Europe's biggest recycling initiatives is part of the Aluminium Packaging Recycling Organisation (Alupro) effort to encourage everyone to recycle more of the aluminium packaging they use every day.

The 2017 Alupro team sponsorship will build awareness and promote the use of the Every Can Counts program, which ensures opportunity for people to recycle beverage cans away from home. This includes workplaces, universities and colleges, events such as music festivals – or when watching a cycling race!

"We're delighted to welcome Alupro on board," said Drops Director Tom Varney. "The Every Can Counts initiative, and recycling in general, has many synergies with cycling and we're excited to explore opportunities of how we can educate people further."

The Drops Cycling Team is a registered women's cycling team with Union Cycliste Internationale, based in Switzerland. The team has upcoming races in the UK, including the Tour de Yorkshire and the Tour Series, where they will build awareness and participation in Every Can Counts.

The Every Can Counts program was launched in 2009 to help recover the estimated 30 percent of aluminium cans that are used away from home. Organizers realized that this important source of aluminium for recycling wasn't getting captured as well as it should, in large part because there isn't always an easy way to dispose of cans properly – even though people would be happy to do so. This encouraged them to look for a solution.

Their commitment took shape in the form of readily recognizable, conveniently located bright green containers for people on the go to drop off their cans. By 2010, the idea had spread to France and Austria, and by 2013, France boasted more than 5,000 collection points and 930 workplace partners.

The Every Can Counts organization established itself as the umbrella group for programs in European countries that include Scotland and Ireland, but also Hungary and Greece. Five years later, Spain joined in the effort too, making the brand – and the green containers – a common sight.

The programs, supported by the metal packaging industry, also are designed to build community and the brand. "Country group teams meet twice a year to share experiences and best practice," the organization said in a 2014 report. "Communications resources are shared using a central website, which provides tried and tested artwork templates and images."

That focus helps to achieve a primary goal of Every Can Counts, which is to facilitate lasting behavioral change. It's one thing to capture more recycling at a music venue; it's a far more ambitious goal to create a culture in which people choose recycling as part of their overall orientation to a sustainable future.

The new Drops Cycling Team sponsorship is meant to advance that vision, with cycling enthusiasts who are recycling ambassadors adding to the program's success, one can at a time.