Every Bottle Back expands in Michigan

The American Beverage Association, Washington, has announced that Bay City, Michigan, will be the fifth community in that state to receive an investment to expand residential recycling access by providing larger curbside carts. Previous investments in Michigan include Ann Arbor, Marquette County, Ypsilanti Township and Trenton.

Fifteen hundred Bay City households will receive 96-gallon recycling carts that will be provided free of charge to all eligible residents through the Every Bottle Back initiative. The new carts will replace the smaller bins currently used, increasing the capacity of curbside recycling by five times.

Every Bottle Back is part of a beverage-industry-led effort to reduce its plastic footprint and create a circular economy for plastic bottles. It is a collaboration between The Recycling Partnership (TRP), Washington, and the Lansing-based Michigan Soft Drink Association (MSDA).

Bay City will receive $240,000 from the beverage industry and nearly $1.2 million in community and state funds for this expansion of recycling services, according to a news release issued by American Beverage. This investment will benefit 34,000 Bay City residents and, over the next decade, is expected to bring more than 28 million pounds of new recyclables into the collection stream, including more than 1.1 million pounds of PET plastic and 427,500 pounds of aluminum. The grant includes $15,000 for community education and outreach to help residents recycle better.

“American Beverage is excited to continue our recycling efforts with the most recent Every Bottle Back investment in Bay City, Michigan,” says Katherine Lugar, president and chief executive officer of American Beverage. “Through this meaningful partnership, we are able to provide the new and improved recycling infrastructure needed to increase local collection rates, reduce the amount of plastic in the environment and improve the overall quality of life for Bay City residents.”

“Increasing comprehensive community recycling rates is a priority for the Michigan Soft Drink Association and our members,” adds Derek Bajema, president and CEO of the MSDA. “Michigan’s soft drink producers and distributors are leading local sustainability solutions through numerous community-based initiatives, including recycling infrastructure upgrades across our state. We are extremely grateful for this investment, and we look forward to increased recycling rates in Bay City thanks to these improvements.”

Jill Martin, director of state programs at TRP says, “Residents will be able to recycle more and increase the capture of valuable recyclables needed to make new products and packaging.”

Bay City is the latest of more than 27 projects that the beverage industry has committed to fund under Every Bottle Back.

To date, Every Bottle Back investments total more than $19 million in committed funding and are estimated to yield 719 million more pounds of polyethylene terephthalate, or PET, in 10 years.