Beverage Companies Fund Upgrades to Livonia Curbside Recycling Ahead of America Recycles Day

LIVONIA, Mich. - American Beverage is investing $210,000 to support the city of Livonia's upgrades to automated curbside collections recycling services. As the 10th Every Bottle Back investment in Michigan, the grant will fund free, standardized 96-gallon recycling carts for 39,500 households and support a residential outreach program to help residents understand what materials can be recycled using the new carts.

"We have made great strides in improving Michigan's recycling infrastructure over the last five years and are excited to celebrate America Recycles Day by announcing the beverage industry's 6th investment in our state," said Derek Bajema, president and chief executive officer of the Michigan Beverage Association. "Upgrading Livonia's curbside recycling program is transformative for the community, making recycling more accessible and easier for thousands of residents. With increased recycling capacity, more of our bottles and cans can be collected and remade, as they're designed to be."

The transition from 26-gallon bins to 96-gallon carts will drastically increase recycling capacity for households. Over the next decade, the upgraded recycling program is expected to yield 17 million new pounds of recycled material. This includes 682,500 pounds of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic and 227,500 pounds of aluminum, which are used to make recyclable bottles and cans. Carts will begin to launch this month.

Previous projects funded by America's beverage companies through the Every Bottle Back initiative include Ann Arbor, Bay City, Ishpeming, Marquette City, Marquette County, Marquette Township, Michigamme Township, Negaunee, Trenton and Ypsilanti Township. These collective investments are projected to yield more than 10 million new pounds of recycled plastic in the next 10 years.

Since launching five years ago, Every Bottle Back-an initiative of The Coca-Cola Company, Keurig Dr Pepper and PepsiCo-has reached 14 million Americans through $28.5 million in funding nationwide. In total, the investments across 49 communities are estimated to yield 705 million new pounds of recycled PET and 43 million more pounds of recycled aluminum over the next decade.

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