WASHINGTON – Today, the American Beverage Association (ABA) continued its Summer Innovation & Sustainability Conversation Series with a webinar featuring an exclusive conversation between Katherine Lugar, ABA president and CEO; U.S. Representative Haley Stevens, Chairwoman of the Research and Technology Subcommittee of the House Science; Space and Technology Committee Keefe Harrison, founder and CEO of The Recycling Partnership (TRP); and Bridget Croke, managing director, Closed Loop Partners (CLP). ABA’s Summer Innovation & Sustainability Conversation Series is focused on bringing leading voices from the innovation and sustainability space together for unique conversations to discuss the ways that the public and private sectors can partner together to achieve environmental goals and create a more circular economy. 

During today’s conversation, Congresswoman Stevens highlighted work underway by the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology on plastics and recycling. Congresswoman Stevens also briefed viewers on her bipartisan Plastic Waste Reduction and Recycling Act and other initiatives by the Congressional Plastics Solutions Task Force. Following their discussion, Lugar spoke with TRP Founder and CEO Keefe Harrison and CLP Managing Director Bridget Croke to discuss collaboration between the public and private sectors to advance waste reduction, increase plastics recovery and improve community recycling.

“Congresswoman Stevens’s innovative and unifying leadership on these issues couldn’t come at a better time,” said Katherine Lugar, ABA president and CEO. “We are grateful for her work to advance policy to boost consumer recycling and decrease plastic waste. America’s beverage industry stands ready to work with government leaders and do our part to improve our environment for generations to come. We are also very proud to build on our industry’s partnership with The Recycling Partnership and Closed Loop Partners through our ongoing Every Bottle Back initiative. Our partnership reflects the importance of public-private sector collaboration, educating consumers and working together to ensure that our 100% recyclable bottles don’t end up as litter in places they don’t belong - such as oceans, lakes or rivers.”

“The approach taken by the American Beverage Association to bring NGOs, industry partners and non-profits together is a story I want to help tell,” said Representative Haley Stevens of Michigan. “My goal in Congress is to bring together new alliances to legislate, appropriate and conduct oversight on important issues like plastic waste. The issue of plastic waste is a unique problem our country can solve through initiatives like Every Bottle Back. Doing so will help us focus on real policy and real solutions to deliver for the American people.”

“The American Beverage Association’s members are showing all of us that effective progress can be made through partnerships, and we appreciate the dedication by Congresswoman Stevens in advancing bipartisan recycling solutions,” said Keefe Harrison, TRP founder and CEO. “At The Recycling Partnership, we take problem solving head on and partner with governmental and business leaders like America’s beverage industry that are taking thoughtful action to increase the recovery of all recyclables, including plastic bottles.”

“Working collaboratively with diverse stakeholders including policymakers, brands, and NGOs, among others, is critical for accelerating the transition to a truly circular economy,” said Bridget Croke, CLP managing director. “Efforts like the Every Bottle Back initiative demonstrate that effective and efficient solutions can be achieved when we all work towards common goals, and we are proud to partner in this initiative. Partnerships such as these allow us to make a tangible impact on our environment, keeping valuable materials out of landfills and in circulation.”

Nationally, the Every Bottle Back initiative measures industry progress in reducing the use of new plastic, invests in key regions to improve the quality and availability of recycled plastic and increases public awareness to remind consumers that beverage bottles are 100% recyclable and can be remade into new bottles.

These efforts support individual sustainability efforts undertaken by The Coca-Cola Company, Keurig Dr Pepper and PepsiCo. Learn more about the Every Bottle Back initiative at www.EveryBottleBack.org.

To schedule an interview, please contact the ABA media office at media@ameribev.org. 

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