Jokes about the alcohol consumption levels of the average student aside, the campaign Every Can Counts , will be promoting the benefits of increasing recycling rates of the drinks can at 20 participating universities.

The campaign, a spin-off of the wider Defra-funded NUS environmental campaign Degrees Cooler, will work with both staff and students to help increase recycling awareness.

It was launched at a Can Film Festival at London Southbank, where students were asked to pay to get in with empty cans.

Olivia Knight Adams, Degrees Cooler project co-ordinator at the NUS, said: “Students consume a huge amount of drinks in cans so the Every Can Counts programme really taps into our need for greener thinking and encourages behaviour change among students.”

“The Can Film Festival brings a fun, simple yet serious message to Go Green Week and we’d like to thank Every Can Counts for supporting Degrees Cooler.”

Rick Hindley of Every Can Counts said: “Of the eight billion drink cans sold in the UK each year, around half still end up in landfill. We can still dramatically improve on these figures if we focus on recycling outside of the home.

“Degrees Cooler offers us a fantastic opportunity to expand Every Can Counts and engage with a very important audience.

“By engaging with students through events like the Can Film Festival, we can help them understand exactly how they’re helping to make a difference simply by dropping their cans into the right bins.”

Mervyn Jones, manufacturing programme manager at WRAP, added: “Today’s students are very much the leaders of tomorrow.

“Awareness of importance of recycling amongst this demographic is gradually increasing and programmes like Every Can Counts help to turn this awareness into action.”

Sam Bond

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