Alcoa Introduces 'Pass the Can' Facebook App; Players Use Social Network to Drive Aluminum Recycling and Environmental Stewardship
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Alcoa Foundation to donate $1 each time user passes the can to
friend, benefiting nonprofit organizations
Alcoa (NYSE:AA) introduced a new Facebook app today that engages and
educates users about aluminum recycling in a fun way and leverages their
social network to encourage their friends to act.
In 'Pass
the Can', players crush a virtual aluminum can, pass it to Facebook
friends, and at the same time encourage real-world recycling and
contribute to a 'green' cause.
Each time a can is "passed′ through the app to a friend, Alcoa
Foundation will donate $1 (up to US $75,000) to recycling efforts led by
three leading conservation non-profit organizations: Keep
America Beautiful in the U.S., Planet
Ark in Australia and the International
Union for Conservation of Nature in Europe. In addition, each time a
can reaches a new level of intercantinental travel, the player is
awarded a badge with aluminum recycling facts to share with friends.
''Pass the Can' is a fun way for Facebook users to make a big impact on
real-world aluminum recycling and help increase the can recycling rate,'
said Beth Schmitt, Director of Recycling Programs for Alcoa.
Alcoa has a goal to help the U.S. raise its recycling rate for aluminum
beverage cans to 75 percent by 2015. In 2011, the U.S. recycling rate
rose to 65 percent from 58 percent in 2010. This means 61 billion
aluminum cans were recycled in the U.S. in 2011, with the energy saved
equivalent to 17 million barrels of crude oil.
'Recycling is a global challenge because tens of billions of cans are
still being wasted. Aluminum cans are infinitely recyclable and are the
most valuable material in the recycling bin, so they should never see a
landfill. Recycling a can takes only five percent of the energy needed
to make that can from scratch, so there′s a big benefit,' Schmitt said.
'We're excited to engage Facebook users from all over the world in doing
their part to encourage their friends to recycle ? by passing the can.'
Alcoa's 'Pass the Can' Facebook app will be officially launched today at
the Clinton Global Initiative annual meeting in New York when Alcoa,
Alcoa Foundation and Keep America Beautiful announce the 'Action to
Accelerate Recycling' commitment, a $2 million national initiative to
increase U.S. recycling rates.
'Pass the Can' is Alcoa's second app created to promote aluminum can
recycling. In 2010, Alcoa launched Aluminate?,
a recycling app for iPhone and iPad that helps consumers find recycling
centers, track how many aluminum cans they recycle and calculate the
cash they earn through recycling. Also in 2010, Alcoa launched its first
recycling viral video, An
InCANvenient Truth, featuring Carl the Can Man, which
rocketed to the top of YouTube′s nonprofit category on the day of launch.
Following are the recycling projects funded through 'Pass the Can?:
KAB:
Keep America Beautiful will identify state and county fairs in
non-deposit bill states and initiate recycling at several of these
large recreational events across the U.S. in 2013 and 2014.
Specifically, KAB will provide support for the placement of
recycling bins, develop both technical support and communication
tools, provide training, and identify cost-effective best
practices for State and County Fair recycling programs over a two-
year period.
IUCN:
International Union for the Conservation of Nature′s Commission on
Education and Communication (IUCN CEC) will focus on bringing
together environmental education approaches from across Europe to
be developed in Hungary, focusing on educating youth through
interactive events and games that focus on topics including
recycling and conservation. IUCN CEC will develop a curriculum
that includes games, materials, training and interactive tools for
local use in Hungarian and English for wider use across Europe.
Planet Ark:
Planet Ark′s mission is to work with people and businesses to
teach them the simple ways in which they can reduce their impact
on the planet, at home, at work and in the community. In
partnership with Alcoa Foundation, Planet Ark will develop
recycling-based lesson plans, and interactive class activities
that are linked to curriculum outcomes for K-12. These will be
promoted as a core component of National Recycling Week for 10,000
Australian schools in 2012 and beyond. As a result of this
program, up to 30,000 students will have a better understanding of
recycling and how to reduce contamination in recycling and assess
its environmental benefits.
About Alcoa
Alcoa is the world′s leading producer of primary aluminum, fabricated
aluminum and alumina. In addition to inventing the modern-day aluminum
industry, Alcoa innovation has been behind major milestones in the
aerospace, automotive, packaging, building and construction, commercial
transportation, consumer electronics and industrial markets over the
past 120 years. Among the solutions Alcoa markets are flat-rolled
products, hard alloy extrusions, and forgings, as well as Alcoa ? wheels,
fastening systems, precision and investment castings, and building
systems in addition to its expertise in other light metals such as
titanium and nickel-based super alloys. Sustainability is an integral
part of Alcoa′s operating practices and the product design and
engineering it provides to customers. Alcoa has been a member of the Dow
Jones Sustainability Index for 11 consecutive years and approximately 75
percent of all of the aluminum ever produced since 1888 is still in
active use today. Alcoa employs approximately 61,000 people in 31
countries across the world. More information can be found at www.alcoa.com.
Alcoa
Investor Contact
Kelly Pasterick, 212-836-2674
or
Media
Contact
Libby Archell, 212-836-2719