Marquette County, Michigan, receives grant to improve recycling access

The American Beverage Association (ABA), in partnership with The Recycling Partnership, has announced that communities within Marquette County, Michigan, will receive a grant of $68,800 through the Every Bottle Back initiative.

The funds will be applied toward the purchase of higher capacity recycling carts and recycling education materials for the 4,450 households in Marquette County, including Ishpeming, Marquette and Negaunee townships. This investment is expected to yield more than 38 million new pounds of recyclables over 10 years, according to a news release from ABA, which is based in Washington, about the grant.

Through Every Bottle Back, the beverage industry says it is working to expand equitable access to recycling and educate residents about how to best recycle in their community.

“This investment is an important step toward helping communities within Marquette County increase recycling rates and create a more circular economy,” says Katherine Lugar, president and CEO of the ABA. “We are thrilled to build on our industry’s commitment to reduce the use of new plastic and ensure our valuable bottles do not end up in a landfill or as litter in our communities.”

This investment within Marquette County is the sixth of 12 initial projects that the American beverage industry has committed to fund under Every Bottle Back. Other projects include investments in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma; Kenosha, Wisconsin; Ann Arbor, Michigan; Ohio's Pleasant Township and the city of Whitehall; and Dallas-Fort Worth.

“The investments within Marquette County will have an incredible impact on thousands of families in the Ishpeming, Marquette and Negaunee townships, allowing them to recycle more effectively,” says Derek Bajema, president and CEO of the Michigan Soft Drink Association of Lansing. “We applaud today’s investment and look forward to working with all those in Michigan who share our commitment of a more circular economy.”

“The Recycling Partnership, alongside American Beverage and the Michigan Soft Drink Association, is proud to partner with communities within Marquette County to increase the amount of recyclable materials collected in Michigan,” says Keefe Harrison, CEO of The Recycling Partnership, a nonprofit organization based in Falls Church, Virginia, that works with city governments nationwide on their recycling programs. “Bold public-private partnerships like this are critical to the improvement and growth of recycling in the United States.”