American Beverage in partnership with the City of Baltimore announced in June a groundbreaking collaboration brought together by The Recycling Partnership, Closed Loop Partners, Dow Packing & Specialty Plastics, the Baltimore Civic Fund, and Rehrig Pacific that will greatly expand Baltimore residents’ access to safe, effective recycling and improved collection infrastructure.
“The collaboration with The Recycling Partnership and Closed Loop Partners is essential for fostering a recycling culture in Baltimore,” said Mayor Brandon M. Scott. “My administration is committed to implementing the City’s Less Waste, Better Baltimore Plan and building greener, healthier communities” (press release).
The Maryland-Delaware-D.C. Beverage Association is the regional trade association for local soft drink bottlers and distributors. These companies not only manufacture, bottle and distribute soft drinks in Maryland, Delaware and the District of Columbia, but are a vital party of Maryland’s economy. We employ thousands of residents. In Maryland alone, 3,826 jobs are tied to the beverage industry. Our local companies have a long history of working to strengthen the communities where our employees and consumers work and live. From working to reduce sugar from beverages in the American diet, driving sustainable solutions to preserve the environment and protecting consumer choice.
According to an American Beverage press release:
This innovative public-private partnership supports a $9.5 million project, consisting of a $3 million total investment from The Recycling Partnership, which includes $1.65 million from the beverage industry, a plastic resin donation for recycling carts from Dow Packing & Specialty Plastics, and lidded rollout carts manufactured by Rehrig Pacific, as well as a $3 million investment from Closed Loop Partners’ Infrastructure Fund. This first of its kind collaboration will help Baltimore provide free recycling carts to 205,000 households to collect and process more recyclable materials, including beverage bottles and cans. As part of the effort, the city will launch a recycling education campaign to inform the community about the new carts and what can and cannot be recycled.
Providing residents with a free recycling cart is one of the key recommendations in the city’s Less Waste, Better Baltimore Plan, which has identified options for improving solid waste diversion, recycling, and disposal in the city. Previously, Baltimore households who participated in the city’s weekly recycling collections had to provide their own carts.
“Local beverage bottlers and beverage distributors share the goal of keeping plastic out of the environment and we welcome this collaboration between the city, businesses and sustainability groups to ensure recyclables are collected and remade into new products as intended,” said Ellen Valentino, executive vice president of the MD/DE/DC Beverage Association.
Learn more about this partnership and read the full press release.
Thank you to the MD-DE-DC Beverage Association for being a MACo Bronze Corporate Partner and for sponsoring our Crab Feast at MACo’s Summer Conference!
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