BAY CITY, Mich. – American Beverage today announced Bay City has been selected to receive an investment that expands residential recycling access by providing larger curbside carts to15,000 households. The 96-gallon recycling carts will be provided free of charge to all eligible residents, replacing the smaller bins currently in use and increasing by five times the capacity of curbside recycling.

The investment is being made as part of the Every Bottle Back initiative, a beverage industry-led effort to reduce the industry’s plastic footprint and create a circular economy for its valuable plastic bottles, which are carefully designed to be 100% recyclable. This initiative is a collaboration between The Recycling Partnership (TRP) and the Michigan Soft Drink Association (MSDA). 

"American Beverage is excited to continue our recycling efforts with the most recent Every Bottle Back investment in Bay City, Michigan,” said Katherine Lugar, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of American Beverage. “Through this meaningful partnership we are able to provide the new and improved recycling infrastructure needed to increase local collection rates, reduce the amount of plastic in the environment and improve the overall quality of life for Bay City residents.” 

“Increasing comprehensive community recycling rates is a priority for the Michigan Soft Drink Association and our members,” said Derek Bajema, president and chief operating officer (CEO) of the Michigan Soft Drink Association. “Michigan’s soft drink producers and distributors are leading local sustainability solutions through numerous community-based initiatives, including recycling infrastructure upgrades across our state. We are extremely grateful for this investment and we look forward to increased recycling rates in Bay City thanks to these improvements.” 

"The Recycling Partnership is excited that Bay City's new carts increase residents' recycling capacity by five times from the city's current recycling bins," says Jill Martin, Director of State Programs at The Partnership. “Residents will be able to recycle more and increase the capture of valuable recyclables needed to make new products and packaging.”

Bay City will receive $240,000 from the beverage industry and nearly $1.2 million in community and state funds for this expansion of recycling services. This investment will benefit 34,000 Bay City residents and, over the next decade, is expected to bring more than 28 million pounds of new recyclables into the collection stream, including more than 1.1 million pounds of PET plastic and 427,500 pounds of aluminum. The grant includes $15,000 for community education and outreach to help residents recycle better. 

Bay City is the latest of more than 27 projects that the beverage industry has committed to fund under Every Bottle Back. Previous investments in Michigan include Ann Arbor, Marquette County, Ypsilanti Township and Trenton. 

Launched in 2019 by American Beverage, the Every Bottle Back initiative is a collaboration between The Coca-Cola Company, Keurig Dr Pepper and PepsiCo that aims to improve the collection of the beverage industry's plastic beverage bottles so they can be remade into new bottles as intended.

To date, Every Bottle Back investments total more than $19 million in committed funding and are estimated to yield 719 million more pounds of PET over 10 years.

 

About American Beverage’s Every Bottle Back initiative:

The Every Bottle Back initiative is an integrated and comprehensive initiative by The Coca-Cola Company, Keurig Dr Pepper and PepsiCo, alongside sustainability leaders Closed Loop Partners, The Recycling Partnership and World Wildlife Fund, designed to improve plastics circularity. These efforts support individual sustainability commitments undertaken by The Coca-Cola Company, Keurig Dr Pepper and PepsiCo.  

Learn more about Every Bottle Back at www.EveryBottleBack.org.  

 

To schedule an interview, please contact American Beverage’s press office at media@americanbeverage.org.

 

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