FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 19, 2024
Contact: media@americanbeverage.org

Beverage Industry Announces Grant to Help Modernize Rockford’s Recycling Collection System Through Every Bottle Back Initiative

Grant from America’s leading beverage companies will fund citywide upgrade from 32-gallon bins to 64-gallon recycling carts.

ROCKFORD, Ill. – American Beverage today announced a $225,000 grant will be awarded to Rockford to help modernize the community’s curbside recycling program as part of the Every Bottle Back Initiative. The grant will support upgrades from 32-gallon recycling bins to universally provided and standardized 64-gallon recycling carts, allowing for more recyclable materials to be captured and sorted. The investment will also support a robust recycling education program as part of a six million total investment to modernize Rockford’s collection system.

“American Beverage is excited to be a part of Rockford’s efforts to revolutionize the city’s recycling infrastructure to more efficiently and effectively serve the community,” said Kevin Keane, president and chief executive officer of American Beverage. “The beverage industry is committed to making a difference in community recycling programs across the country. We are eager to see the impact this investment will bring to Rockford and its residents.”

“This meaningful partnership will help support Rockford’s efforts to overhaul its recycling system and expand recycling access for nearly 150,000 residents,” said Madeline Norris, executive director of the Illinois Beverage Association. “We’re committed to making our environment here in Illinois more sustainable, and this project will help us do just that by yielding millions of new pounds of recyclable materials, including industry’s valuable 100% recyclable bottles and cans.”

This project aims to improve the city’s recycling collection system and boost its recycling rates by providing larger, standardized recycling carts along with a residential outreach and recycling education program.

Over the next decade, it is projected this investment will result in the collection of an additional 46 million pounds of recyclable materials, including more than 600,000 pounds of aluminum and nearly two million pounds of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), the 100% recyclable plastic used to make Coca-Cola, Keurig Dr Pepper and PepsiCo beverage bottles.

This investment in Rockford is part of 52 initial projects that the beverage industry and its sustainability partners, including The Recycling Partnership, have committed to fund through the Every Bottle Back initiative. This is the fourth Every Bottle Back investment in Illinois with previous investments including Villa Park, LaSalle and Chicago. Investments from the beverage industry nationally total more than $28.9 million in committed funding and are estimated to yield more than 810 million new pounds of PET and more than 77 million more pounds of aluminum over the next decade.

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About American Beverage’s Every Bottle Back initiative:

The Every Bottle Back initiative is an integrated and comprehensive initiative by The Coca-Cola Company, Keurig Dr Pepper and PepsiCo, alongside sustainability leaders Closed Loop Partners, The Recycling Partnership and World Wildlife Fund, designed to improve plastics circularity. These efforts support individual sustainability commitments undertaken by The Coca-Cola Company, Keurig Dr Pepper and PepsiCo. 

Learn more about Every Bottle Back at www.EveryBottleBack.org.

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To schedule an interview, please contact American Beverage’s press office at media@americanbeverage.org.