Massachusetts town to transition to single-stream recycling

The American Beverage Association has announced that Danvers, Massachusetts, will receive more than $100,000 from the beverage industry through Every Bottle Back, an initiative that invests in U.S. recycling infrastructure and education. Danvers will transition to carted trash collection and to every-other-week single-stream curbside collection of recyclables, with residents receiving new, large-capacity recycling carts. Danvers currently collects recyclables weekly using a dual-stream model, according to the town’s website.  

The 95-gallon recycling carts can hold more recyclables, according to American Beverage, which is based in Washington.

The grant will provide recycling carts for about 7,700 households that are eligible for curbside recycling. Over the next decade, this investment is expected to collect more than 6 million new pounds of recyclables, including 87,000 pounds of aluminum and 262,000 pounds of polyethylene terephthalate, or PET, plastic, American Beverage says.

Danvers is the third Every Bottle Back investment announced in Massachusetts, with previous investments made in the town of Falmouth and city of Methuen.

“Larger carts and a modernized recycling system will help to improve curbside recycling for residents of Danvers so we can get more of our 100 percent recyclable bottles and cans back,” says Kevin Keane, president and chief executive officer of American Beverage. “We are thrilled to continue to work with local leaders and alongside our partners to make meaningful investments in the commonwealth.”

“The Massachusetts Beverage Association is focused on creating a cleaner, more sustainable future,” adds Steve Boksanski, executive director of the Massachusetts Beverage Association, Boston. “This investment from American Beverage and The Recycling Partnership will go a long way toward accomplishing that goal and will help to ensure our valuable 100 percent beverage containers can be remade as intended. We are grateful for this ongoing commitment so we can continue to invest in our local communities.”

“We are excited to be working with Danvers to ensure equitable recycling access and making it easier for residents to participate in the city’s curbside recycling program,” says Taylor Sorenson, community program manager at The Recycling Partnership, Washington. “The town will be able to capture more recyclables to keep these valuable materials out of the landfill and getting it back to manufacturers to create new products with recyclable materials.”

The investment in Danvers is part of 39 initial projects that the beverage industry has committed to fund under the Every Bottle Back initiative, an initiative by The Coca-Cola Co., Keurig Dr Pepper, PepsiCo and Polar Beverages alongside Closed Loop Partners, The Recycling Partnership and World Wildlife Fund, designed to improve plastics circularity. These investments total more than $23 million in funding and are estimated to yield more than 754 million new pounds of PET and nearly 61 million more pounds of aluminum used beverage cans, or UBCs, over 10 years, according to American Beverage.