Recycling will become more convenient this summer when Keep America
Beautiful and The Coca-Cola Company award 89 grants to communities in 41
states across the nation. The Coca-Cola/Keep America Beautiful Recycling
Bin Grant Program will provide 3,662 recycling bins to colleges and
universities, along with 1,638 bins to local governments and nonprofit
organizations. The recycling bins are made possible through a grant from
The Coca-Cola Foundation, the philanthropic arm of The Coca-Cola Company.
More than 66 percent of the bins are designed specifically for
permanent, ongoing use in public spaces such as athletic fields, K-12
schools, fairs and festivals, special events and park settings, with the
remaining 44 percent to be used by students in college residence hall
settings.
“Research has shown that convenience is a key factor in getting people
to recycle,” said Brenda Pulley, senior vice president, recycling, Keep
America Beautiful. “With Coca-Cola’s continued support, the recycling
bins provided through the grant program create literally thousands of
new opportunities for people to recycle in public areas across the
country.”
The Coca-Cola/Keep America Beautiful Recycling Bin Grant Program
addresses lack of convenience by providing a significant number of bins
in strategic locations. Including the 2015 grants, nearly 45,000
recycling bins will have been placed by the program in 560 communities
nationwide since its inception in 2007. In addition to the grants, Keep
America Beautiful provides technical best practice guidance to grant
recipients and organizations about setting up effective away-from-home
and on-the-go recycling programs.
“Through this program and our more than 50-year partnership with Keep
America Beautiful, we are helping to ensure that communities understand
the importance of recycling,” said Lori George Billingsley, vice
president, community relations, Coca-Cola North America. “Community
recycling not only impacts the environment today, but it helps build
sustainable communities for the future.”
Grant recipients were chosen by Keep America Beautiful based on their
potential to collect the most cans and bottles as well other
considerations such as the extent of their need, recycling experience,
and their ability to sustain the program in the future. Special outreach
was made to colleges and universities through a partnership with the
College and University Recycling Coalition (CURC), a membership
organization serving campus recycling managers. A full list of the
spring 2015 Coca-Cola/Keep America Beautiful Recycling Bin Grant
recipients, as well as Keep America Beautiful’s best practices guide,
“Designing Effective Public Space Recycling Programs,” are available at http://bingrant.org.
About Keep America Beautiful
Keep America Beautiful is the nation’s leading nonprofit that brings
people together to build and sustain vibrant communities. With our
national network of community-based affiliates, we work with millions of
volunteers who take action in their communities to transform public
spaces into beautiful places. Through our programs and public-private
partnerships, we engage individuals to take greater responsibility for
improving their community’s environment. To learn how you can donate and
take action, visit kab.org
and follow us on Twitter,
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or view us on YouTube.
About The Coca-Cola Foundation
Since its inception, The Coca-Cola Foundation has awarded more than $660
million to support global sustainable community initiatives, including
water stewardship women’s empowerment and well-being. For more
information about The Coca-Cola Foundation, please go to www.thecoca-colacompany.com/citizenship/foundation_coke.html.
Copyright Business Wire 2015