A Bubbling Market

Recycling advocates have for years urged soft drink makers to pay more attention to the recycling of the No. 1 PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottles they use.

With or without the involvement of soft drink makers such as PepsiCo Inc., Purchase, N.Y., or Coca-Cola Inc., Atlanta, the recycling of No. 1 PET bottles has gained momentum this decade as the material has gained additional end markets globally.

The biggest change in the market may be yet to come, however, with Coca-Cola spearheading the construction of a PET bottle-to-bottle recycling plant in Spartanburg, S.C.

The concept is not entirely new to Coca-Cola, which presently has similar recycling facilities in Switzerland, Mexico, Austria and the Philippines.

According to the soft drink and bottled water producer, the company is striving to open the South Carolina bottle-to-bottle recycling plant late this year, with the facility fully operational by 2009. The production goal for the $60 million facility will be to handle approximately 100 million pounds of PET plastics annually

Coca-Cola, which says it hopes to recycle or reuse 100 percent of its PET plastic bottles in the United States, is working with United Resource Recovery Corp., based in Spartanburg, on the project.

Along with the new facility, the company is also expanding its business relationship with RecycleBank, based in New York, by providing a $2 million grant to the company to help it expand its residential recycling program. The grant will continue to drive the plan between the two partners to support the collection of PET bottles throughout the country.

Recycling Today magazine Editor in Chief Brian Taylor recently asked RecycleBank CEO Ron Gonen and Scott Vitters, director of sustainable packaging of Coca-Cola, for more information about their partnership.

Recycling Today: How did RecycleBank and Coca-Cola become aware of each other as potential business allies?

Ron Gonen: Coca-Cola was the first corporate partner I presented RecycleBank to. We met before there were any homes in the program or any contracts on the table. In fact, RecycleBank was me, our co-founder Patrick and a few very maxed out credit cards. I was lucky to meet up with Scott Vitters, director of sustainable packaging. After hearing the RecycleBank mission and business model, he said, "If you can pull this off, you will change the industry." From that point on, Coca-Cola was involved, and our relationship continues to grow.

Scott Vitters: We first became aware of RecycleBank in 2003 when the company was just starting discussions in Philadelphia on a potential initial program launch. It was a welcome breath of fresh air to see a market-based recycling model that leveraged new technology to effectively motivate consumers to recycle more.

We knew that by offering relevant consumer incentives, focusing on areas where high volumes of recyclables are generated, providing proper-size recycling containers, operating single-/dual-stream collection and delivering clear education messages, communities could meaningfully increase recycling collection and lower landfill costs. RecycleBank effectively put all of these pieces into a single business model that we immediately knew was a winner.

RT: When will Coca-Cola’s 2007 investment in RecycleBank begin to result in additional RecycleBank programs?

RG: It already has. The investment is part of a larger relationship to increase curbside recycling rates across the United States.

Coca-Cola has a strong commitment to advance economically viable solutions to recycling in communities they service.

RecycleBank brings that model to the table,
allowing Coke to collect and close the loop on its product while rewarding its consumers for the act of recycling.

Coke wins, consumers win, the community wins, and the planet wins.

SV: Our key objective with investing in RecycleBank was to help accelerate the expansion of a recycling model that works. RecycleBank grew more than 400 percent in 2007, and we are pleased to see continued growth in 2008.

RT: How wide of a reach geographically can RecycleBank make because of this additional investment?

RG: RecycleBank’s goal is to be the leading green consumer brand, dramatically increasing recycling rates as we go.

SV: This question is better answered by RecycleBank directly. However, I would add that we have been pleased by RecycleBank’s commitment to managing its growth responsibly.

RT: What are the ways that Coca-Cola and RecycleBank are working together either because of or beyond the $2 million investment?

RG: The investment is just one piece of a deep and expansive relationship between RecycleBank and Coke. Prior to this investment, RecycleBank and Coca-Cola formed the Green Community Fund. This program enables households to donate their RecycleBank Points to RecycleBank’s Green Schools programs that supports environmental education in RecycleBank-serviced areas or supports local environmental organizations. Coca-Cola pledged to match a dollar for every RecycleBank Point that was donated.

Grants covered such topics as recapturing rainwater; bringing recycling to schools; building urban gardens; exposing children to all aspects of nature; and learning about composting.

Based on the success of the RecycleBank Donations Program in 2006, Coca-Cola has reconfirmed its commitment for another year-long partnership to continue to sponsor these programs.

SV: In addition, Coca-Cola is working with RecycleBank on opportunities to expand its incentive-based recycling model beyond just the home. We are currently working together on an innovative pilot program at Columbia University in New York City aimed at better engaging students in recycling at college campuses.

RT: What is the tie-in between RecycleBank’s collection methods and the recycling facility Coca-Cola is building in South Carolina?

RG: RecycleBank will have the ability to increase the supply of recycled plastic on the market. Coca-Cola is creating the recycling infrastructure, and its goal is to recycle or reuse 100 percent of the company’s polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic bottles in the United States. In addition to the PET recycling goal, Coca-Cola also has set a long-term goal to recycle 100 percent of the aluminum cans it sells in the United States. According to a report in the Atlanta Business Chronicle, the company expects to recycle more than 100 million pounds each of PET and aluminum by the end of 2008. RecycleBank dramatically increases household recycling rates wherever we roll out. We have the unique ability to motivate consumers to specifically recycle all of their Coke products.

SV: Our approach to sustainable packaging is built around a strategic framework focused on the entire life cycle of a package—from initial design to end use. We have helped to develop and commercialize technologies to reuse packaging materials, we have launched recycling businesses to collect these materials and we have designed our packaging to be recyclable. Our recycling business in the United States, Coca-Cola Recycling, is specifically committed to collecting material for reuse in our recycling facilities. Given RecycleBank’s success in increasing the collection of recyclables, Coca-Cola Recycling is very focused on partnership opportunities with communities served by RecycleBank.

RT: Will it be part of RecycleBank’s mission to draw in additional empty bottles as an alternative to deposit-return systems?

RG: Yes. The deposit-return system was a wonderful solution when first created. We believe in anything that helps to increase recyclables being diverted from landfills. Our system, with the ease of single stream, the very large cart and the reward for positive behavior, makes the process elegantly simple. Once a person participates for a few weeks, behaviors actually begin to change, and we see people broadening their horizons on what is in fact recyclable. Rewards lend a sense of personal accomplishment in taking care of the Earth, so naturally they continue the process and keep recycling.

SV: RecycleBank’s mission is to increase community recycling. Its success has been the result of making recycling convenient, available for a broad range of materials and rewarding to consumers. Whether it still makes sense to force consumers to drive their beverage containers to collection centers to redeem a mandated fee is up to communities. Environmentally it makes the more sense to focus on maximizing the collection of all recyclables at the point of consumption.

RT: Will the Coke brand (and other brands owned by Coca-Cola) be used prominently in recycling efforts?

RG: In select occasions and when appropriate. For instance, in the city of Atlanta, Coke will play a major role. Also, RecycleBank Green Schools Program will continue. It is entirely sponsored by Coca-Cola and is continuing to develop the young environmental stewards of the future. Coca-Cola now offers our households rewards such as T-shirts and reusable bags that are made entirely from recycled products. These are great motivations for our students at Columbia University (who are piloting our kiosk system of recycling).

SV: When it is appropriate. We launched a national merchandise program of Coca-Cola apparel made from recycled PET earlier this year, with the specific objective to heighten consumer awareness of the recyclability of beverage containers. We have had numerous branded recycling collection and education efforts at major events this year, such as NASCAR, NCAA Final Four and music concerts. We also fund a recycling bin grant program offering award recipients the opportunity to select either Coca-Cola branded or unbranded bins.

Specifically with RecycleBank, both our Coke and Dasani brands have worked on the campus pilot referenced.

We also are exploring additional opportunities to leverage the strong marketing platform provided by the RecycleBank rewards program.

RT: Can recycling program coordinators or recycling collection contractors reach out to RecycleBank to get involved in your incentive-based recycling program, or does the company prefer to identify and work with targeted municipalities and haulers?

RG: We look forward to working with any interested parties that want to bring RecycleBank to their community.

RT: What are some of the best-case scenario outcomes of the relationship between these two companies?

RG: We continue to work together to dramatically increase recycling rates. Coke’s mission to reclaim product is achieved, and our mission to leave no home behind allows us to make a significant impact on the health and well-being of the communities we service and the planet we share.

SV: RecycleBank sees sustained growth and Coca-Cola gains access to new sources of collected materials, local communities reduce waste to landfills, and consumers receive value from increasing recycling.