Gwinnett County, Ga. – Today, American Beverage in partnership with Gwinnett County, The Recycling Partnership and Georgia Beverage Association announced that Gwinnett County, Ga., is the latest recipient of a recycling system investment under Every Bottle Back, a sustained effort to reduce the beverage industry’s use of plastic and keep its bottles out of the environment. 

The county has been awarded $100,000 to encourage residents of unincorporated Gwinnett County to request free curbside carts and fund a recycling awareness campaign to increase recycling rates and decrease contamination.  Additionally, a grant totaling $15,000 has been committed to the City of Norcross to improve the quality of the community’s recycling stream, which brings the total regional investment through Every Bottle Back to $115,000.

“Georgia’s beverage companies are excited to partner with Gwinnett County and The Recycling Partnership to make recycling more accessible for county residents,” said Kevin Perry, president and chief executive officer of the Georgia Beverage Association. “This investment will improve our state’s recycling efforts and ensure our 100% recyclable beverage bottles are collected and remade as new bottles, meaning less plastic in the environment.”

This latest regional investment builds on the beverage industry’s commitment to expand equitable access to recycling. It also will enhance the collection of fully recyclable bottles and cans, meaning less new plastic entering the environment.

“We are thrilled to support this effort to help more Georgians take advantage of curbside recycling, which will in turn boost the collection of our valuable, 100% recyclable bottles,” said Katherine Lugar, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of American Beverage. “Our investment is expected to yield more than 1.3 million new pounds of recycled PET over 10 years helping our industry achieve its goal of reducing our plastic footprint.”

Gwinnett County residents can now request their free recycling carts. This Every Bottle Back investment will inform residents of the availability of these free recycling carts and update residents on best recycling practices through a comprehensive awareness campaign.

“We are very pleased and grateful to The Recycling Partnership for the generous grant to enhance our recycling efforts,” said Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners Chairwoman Nicole Hendrickson. “In Gwinnett County, we believe in recycling. It reduces the amount of waste sent to landfills, conserves natural resources, prevents pollution by reducing the need to collect raw materials, saves energy, and strengthens our economic security. We’re looking forward to seeing an increase in recyclables in Gwinnett County because of this grant.”

“Gwinnett County is demonstrating how investments in recycling and working to inform residents builds system resiliency, support local jobs, save taxpayer dollars, and create a more sustainable, more circular economy,” said Rob Taylor, director of grants and community development at The Recycling Partnership, a nonprofit organization working with communities nationwide to transform their recycling programs. “The Recycling Partnership, with assistance from American Beverage and Georgia Beverage Association’s Every Bottle Back initiative, is proud to support Gwinnett County’s commitment to improve its curbside recycling program.”

Launched in 2019 by American Beverage, the Every Bottle Back initiative is an integrated and comprehensive initiative by The Coca-Cola Company, Keurig Dr Pepper and PepsiCo, alongside sustainability leaders at The Recycling Partnership, Closed Loop Partners and World Wildlife Fund, designed to improve plastics circularity.

This investment in Gwinnett County is the ninth of 13 initial projects that the industry has committed to fund under Every Bottle Back.

These efforts support individual sustainability commitments 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 American Beverage’s Press Office at media@americanbeverage.org.

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