American Beverage marks five-year anniversary of Every Bottle Back

American Beverage, the Washington-based organization representing the nonalcoholic beverage industry in the U.S., recently marked the five-year anniversary of its Every Bottle Back program—an effort to reduce the nonalcoholic beverage industry’s use of new plastic and increase circularity for polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles.

“Every Bottle Back shows that no other industry is doing more to reduce plastic use and waste than America’s beverage companies,” American Beverage President and CEO Kevin Keane says. “Because of our efforts to improve circularity, Americans are seeing more 100 percent recycled plastic bottles on beverage shelves than ever before. But our work is far from over. We’re committed to real solutions—across the life cycle of our product—to protect the environment for generations to come.”

Since 2019, American Beverage says its members have invested $28.5 million to make recycling more accessible and convenient for more than 14 million Americans in 49 communities nationwide. The organization claims this has resulted in:

• Keeping a projected 705 million pounds of PET out of landfills and the environment over the next decade.
• Increasing the projected recycling over the next decade of nearly 43 million pounds of aluminum.
• Providing 985,000 new, often upgraded curbside recycling carts to residents free of charge.
• Galvanizing an additional $170 million in funds for projects from additional investors, more than five times the amount American Beverage has invested directly in the communities funded.

Additionally, American Beverage recently announced three new investments in Cook County, Illinois; Livonia, Michigan; and Polk County, Wisconsin.

“Five years in, Every Bottle Back has delivered needed investments in recycling access, education and infrastructure so more of our valuable containers can be collected and remade as intended,” Keane says.

Every Bottle Back is supported by organizations such as Closed Loop Partners, The Recycling Partnership (TRP) and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

“Every Bottle Back exemplifies our shared commitment of delivering practical, lasting solutions to tackle the plastic pollution crisis,” says Sheila Bonini, senior vice president of private sector engagement for WWF. “The progress made through Every Bottle Back sets a powerful benchmark for steps taken to address environmental challenges, which we will continue to build on for years to come.”

American Beverage says the latest WWF ReSource report shows America’s beverage companies are reducing the national plastic footprint. Specifically, the organization notes that the amount of recycled plastic in beverage bottles has nearly tripled since 2018, and nearly two out of three bottles included recycled plastic.

“Closed Loop Partners is proud to work alongside many of America’s beverage companies to invest in modernizing and improving community recycling nationwide,” says Ron Gonen, founder and CEO of Closed Loop Partners. “Our collaborative work over the last five years helps to ensure that valuable recyclables, like plastic bottles and aluminum cans, are remade instead of going to waste. This collaborative work has already had a significant impact on communities nationwide, and we look forward to building on the successes of Every Bottle Back.”

Since 2019, American Beverage says the Every Bottle Back initiative unites the country’s beverage companies to partner with the largest environmental nongovernmental organization in the WWF; commit to recovering more plastic bottles so they can be remade into new bottles by leveraging funds from TRP and Closed Loop Partners; leverage packaging by adding uniform reminders to consumers that bottles are being designed for 100 percent recyclability, including the caps; and launch a public awareness campaign to inspire confidence and remind consumers that bottles are made to be remade.

“Public-private partnerships like Every Bottle Back are essential to strengthening the recycling system,” TRP CEO Keefe Harrison says. “Every Bottle Back’s long-term, sustained investments in the recycling system have enabled us to improve access to recycling, capturing hundreds of millions of new pounds of quality recyclables across multiple materials. Together, we’re building a better recycling system for all.”