The City of Denver, The Recycling Partnership and the Can Capture Group announced the next phase of the city’s expanded recycling education program to increase the collection of more aluminum beverage cans citywide.

“Denver is proud to team up once again with The Recycling Partnership and the Can Capture Group and to be the first city in the country to run this challenge to recycle every aluminum we can in the metro area,” said Mayor Michael Hancock in a statement. “We’re ready to take our recycling to the next level by challenging our residents citywide to recycle every can they can starting this summer so we can raise our recycling and composting rate to 34 percent by 2020.”

This next phase of the recycling education program follows the successful implementation of phase one in 2017 throughout pilot communities in Denver.

“Last year, we measured recycling of cans at the curb, both before and after the program, and what we found was exciting,” said Karen Bandauer, strategic partnership lead at The Recycling Partnership, in a statement. “As a result of simplified messaging and communication with residents through tags at their garbage carts, Denver residents responded by recycling 25 percent more loose aluminum cans. This year we’re thrilled to work again with the City of Denver with support from the Can Capture Group to take this program citywide. We hope that every Denver resident will take up the challenge and recycle every single can.”

Residents will see tags on their carts, easy-to-follow information cards in their mailboxes and other “think outside the trash” messages throughout the city all summer long.

“The City of Denver is already a leader in environmental performance,” said Carlos Medeiros, representative of Can Manufacturers Group and president of beverage packaging North and Central America at Ball Corporation, in a statement. “Its willingness to push even farther and to work with businesses and the nonprofit sector to do more for the environment and for the residents of Denver shows true leadership.”