Coca Cola Foundation Grants $1 Million to The Recycling Partnership to Help Prevent Marine Debris

FALLS CHURCH, Va–Marine debris is a global crisis for our waterways and oceans and an imminent concern for consumers, communities and industries. By 2050, it is estimated that there will be more marine debris than fish in our ocean and 80 percent of marine debris comes from land-based sources.* 

“We know from experience and research that providing lidded curbside recycling carts is part of the solution to curbing marine debris in developed countries”

To help address the challenge of waste in waterways and help improve the collection of recyclables for reuse, The Coca-Cola Foundation is contributing $1 million to The Recycling Partnership to support a new coastal and waterway communities grant program. The program will provide new carts with lids to targeted communities from the shorelines of Southeast Texas up to Maine, along the Mississippi River and Great Lakes, and in the Pacific Northwest.

“We know from experience and research that providing lidded curbside recycling carts is part of the solution to curbing marine debris in developed countries,” says Keefe Harrison, CEO, The Recycling Partnership. “By providing households with a lidded container, we can help ensure that recyclables stay in the recycling stream and don’t end up in our oceans, rivers and lakes. We’re thrilled to have this grant to support much-needed recycling infrastructure in coastal and waterway communities. We look forward to partnering with more companies and organizations to build on The Coca-Cola Foundation’s significant contribution towards implementation of real-world solutions.”

In July, The Recycling Partnership will announce an RFP to communities to apply for the coastal community cart-based grants on its website www.recyclingpartnership.org. The grants will be awarded on a rolling basis with work to follow shortly after in the selected communities. As part of the cart grants, The Partnership will team up with local organizations for a litter/beach cleanup initiative. The rapidly growing organization will also solidify best practices that will serve as a roadmap for local governments to implement in other coastal and waterway communities.

“The Coca-Cola Foundation places a high priority on supporting organizations like The Recycling Partnership that are substantially improving recycling in communities through infrastructure and education,” said Helen Smith Price, president, The Coca-Cola Foundation. “Through this new program, people living in coastal and waterway communities will be provided with the recycling program they need to prevent recyclables from entering waterways while also improving collection for future use.”

The Coca-Cola Company has contributed more than $13 million to support recycling programs and infrastructure and placed more than one million recycling bins in communities throughout the U.S. These efforts support the Company’s recently announced World Without Waste initiative, which aims to collect a bottle or can for every one the Company sells by 2030.

“The Coca-Cola Company has been one of our largest and most dedicated supporters,” says Harrison. “The Coca-Cola Foundation’s $1 million donation to improve recycling infrastructure in coastal and waterway communities along with the additional $2.3 million in support The Recycling Partnership has received from The Coca-Cola Company over the past four years, signifies their recognition of the enormous challenge we face not just as a nation, but also as a planet to prevent marine debris. Together we can promote cleaner waterways by collecting more recyclables using closed-top, curbside recycling containers.”

*Source: Stemming the Tide: Land-based strategies for a plastic-free report. September 2015 Designed by USDC Copyright © McKinsey & Company and Ocean Conservancy

About The Recycling Partnership
The Recycling Partnership (www.recyclingpartnership.org) is a national nonprofit organization that leverages corporate partner funding to transform recycling for good in cities and towns all across America. As the only organization in the country that engages the full recycling supply chain from the corporations that manufacture products and packaging to local governments charged with recycling to industry end markets, haulers, material recovery facilities, and converters; The Recycling Partnership positively impacts recycling at every step in the process. By the end of 2018, The Recycling Partnership expects to have served 750 communities with tools, resources and technical support, provided 500,000 recycling carts, reached 40 million households, and helped companies and cities invest more than $33 million in recycling infrastructure.

About The Coca-Cola Foundation
The Coca-Cola Foundation is the global philanthropic arm of The Coca-Cola Company. Since its inception in 1984, the Foundation has awarded more than $830 million in grants to support sustainable community initiatives around the world. For more information about The Coca-Cola Foundation, please visit www.coca-colagivingback.com.

About The Coca-Cola Company
The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is the world’s largest total beverage company, offering over 500 brands to people in more than 200 countries. Of our 21 billion-dollar brands, 19 are available in lower- and no-sugar options to help people everywhere more easily control added sugar. In addition to our namesake Coca-Cola drinks, some of our household names around the world include: AdeS soy-based beverages, Ayataka green tea, Dasani waters, Del Valle juices and nectars, Fanta, Georgia coffee, Gold Peak teas and coffees, Honest Tea, Minute Maid juices, Powerade sports drinks, Simply juices, smartwater, Sprite, vitaminwater, and Zico coconut water. At Coca-Cola, we’re serious about making positive contributions to our world. That starts with reducing sugar in our drinks and bringing new and different drinks to people everywhere. It also means continuously working to reduce our environmental impact, creating rewarding careers for our associates, and bringing economic opportunity wherever we operate. In fact, together with our bottling partners, we employ more than 700,000 people around the world. For more information, visit our digital magazine Coca-Cola Journey at www.coca-colacompany.com and follow The Coca-Cola Company on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn.