Sustainability alert: US beverage companies launch Every Bottle Back initiative
Recycling Today | November 1, 2019
Kelly Maile
The Coca-Cola Co., Atlanta, Keurig Dr Pepper, Plano, Texas, and PepsiCo, Purchase, New York, have launched of the Every Bottle Back initiative, an effort to reduce the industry’s use of new plastic by making significant investments to improve the collection of PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottles.
The competitors are coming together to support the circular plastics economy by reinforcing the value of their 100 percent recyclable plastic bottles and caps to consumers and ensuring they don’t end up in oceans, rivers or landfills, according to the American Beverage Association (ABA) news release.
This program is being executed in conjunction with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Switzerland, which will provide strategic scientific advice to help measure the industry’s progress in reducing its plastic footprint, and The Recycling Partnership, Falls Church, Virginia, and New York-based Closed Loop Partners will assist in deploying funds for the initiative.
“Our industry recognizes the serious need to reduce new plastic in our environment, and we want to do our part to lead with innovative solutions,” says Katherine Lugar, president and chief executive officer of ABA. “Our bottles are designed to be remade, and that is why this program is so important.”
Spearheaded by ABA, the Every Bottle Back initiative will:
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measure industry progress in reducing the use of new plastic in the United States through a collaboration with ReSource: Plastic, WWF’s corporate activation hub;
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improve the quality and availability of recycled plastic in key regions of the country by directing the equivalent of $400 million to The Recycling Partnership and Closed Loop Partners through a new $100 million industry fund that will be matched three-to-one by other grants and investors that will be used to improve sorting, processing and collection in areas with the biggest infrastructure gaps;
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launch a public awareness campaign to reinforce to consumers the importance of getting these bottles back, so they can be remade into new bottles; and
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work together to remind consumers that bottles are 100 percent recyclable and can be remade into new bottles. Beverage companies will begin introducing voluntary messaging on packages in late 2020.