Every Bottle Back invests in 2 Massachusetts communities

The American Beverage Association, Washington, has announced that two Massachusetts communities will receive grant-funded investments provided by The Recycling Partnership, also based in Washington, to support the Every Bottle Back initiative, enabling them to expand their recycling programs.

Falmouth, Massachusetts, will receive $336,000, and Methuen, Massachusetts, will receive $240,000 to provide residents with upgraded 95-gallon curbside recycling carts. The new lidded recycling carts will increase collection capacity, helping to improve recycling rates and keeping recyclables out of nature or from being wasted in landfills, the organization says. The investments also include funding for community outreach and educational resources on what is and isn’t recyclable, helping to cut down on contamination in the recycling stream. 

“We are pleased to announce our next Every Bottle Back investments in the town of Falmouth, Massachusetts, and in the city of Methuen, Massachusetts,” says Katherine Lugar, president and chief executive officer of American Beverage. “By investing in these communities, we are able to provide residents with modernized recycling programs to reduce the use of new plastics and ensure that more bottles are efficiently recovered and remade for consumer use through added recyclable collections.”

Launched in 2019 by American Beverage, the Every Bottle Back initiative is a partnership featuring The Coca-Cola Co., Keurig Dr Pepper, PepsiCo and Polar Beverages that aims to improve the collection of the beverage industry's plastic bottles.

“The beverage manufacturers and bottlers of Massachusetts are committed to reducing the usage of new plastics by enhancing our efforts to collect and to remake bottles for consumers in the commonwealth,” says Steve Boksanski, executive director of the Massachusetts Beverage Association. “Through this partnership and with these investments, we will be able to expand access to recycling for the residents of Falmouth and Methuen and improve the quality of material collected. We are grateful for this collaborative effort to get every bottle back and look forward to continuing our work together.”

“This program will allow residents in both communities to recycle more, add jobs and increase capturing valuable recyclables needed to make new products and packaging,” says Haley Gabbard, community program manager at The Recycling Partnership. “We are committed to supporting programs like this across the country to expand existing programs and increase public access.”

These investments are part of 25 initial projects that the beverage industry has committed to fund under Every Bottle Back. These investments will total $16.64 million in funding and are estimated to yield more than 715 million new pounds of polyethylene terephthalate, or PET, over 10 years.