The DMGT-owned publication is taking on its environmental critics as it gears up to re-tender for the London Underground distribution contract, which expires next year.
The publisher has launched a campaign encouraging readers to recycle their copy of the Metro after reading, rather than leaving it on public transport.
Meanwhile, recycling facilities have been installed at Ashford International and Brighton stations as part of deals with Southeastern and Southern trains.
Further installations will follow in the next few weeks in stations operated by South West Trains and London Midland.
Adverts appearing nationwide in the Metro and in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Bristol, Leeds, Manchester, Leicester and Sheffield buses show a copy of Metro left on a seat with headlines such as ‘Horror – woman abandons Metro on train’.
It is accompanied with the slogan ‘leaving your Metro behind is littering. Please take it away and recycle it.’
According to the company the objective of the campaign is to educate readers that leaving their copy of Metro on public transport is "not acceptable" and DMGT claim's that it is the newspaper's strongest message yet to readers on the issues of recycling.
Rich Mead, assistant managing director for Metro, said: "We are always looking for new ways to encourage readers to recycle their copy of Metro, so although the creative for the ads is characteristically amusing, it also delivers a tougher recycling message than we have communicated before.
"We hope this campaign will remind readers that it is actually littering to leave your Metro on public transport and that it is their responsibility to take their copy with them."
DMGT's current contract with London Underground for distribution rights of a morning newspaper expires in the next year.
At this point very little is known about the following contract but it is believed that rival newspaper publisher News International will bid for the contract with a view to moving the Londonpaper to a morning publication.
See also:
DMGT celebrates 10 years of the Metro with pledge to up circulation
DMGT revenues up despite decline in newspaper portfolio
