American Beverage selects Georgia county for Every Bottle Back initiative

American Beverage, the trade association representing America’s nonalcoholic beverage industry, has announced that Gwinnett County in Georgia is a recipient of funding under the Every Bottle Back initiative that launched last year. The goal of the initiative is 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 to 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, Gerogia, to improve the quality of the community’s recycling stream, which brings the total regional investment through Every Bottle Back to $115,000.

According to a news release from American Beverage, Gwinnett County residents can now request their free recycling carts. This 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,” says 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.”

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

The investment in Gwinnett County is 10 of 12 initial projects that the industry has committed to funding under Every Bottle Back.

“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 percent recyclable bottles,” says Katherine Lugar, president and 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.”