Recycling bin grant program increases public access

On America Recycles Day today, Keep America Beautiful, Stamford, Connecticut, and The Coca-Cola Foundation announced the opening of the application period for the 2018 Keep America Beautiful/Coca-Cola Public Spaces Recycling Bin Grant Program.

In its 12th year, the initiative is designed to increase access to recycling in community public spaces across America. Grant applications will be available online through Dec. 30. Applicants can apply here.

For the past 11 years, The Coca-Cola Foundation has supported the program, which has donated recycling bins to more than 1,000 communities in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Over the history of the program, more than 36,000 public space recycling bins have been awarded, providing opportunities for recycling on the go to more than 2 million people daily.

The 2018 program will distribute 4,500 recycling bins in public space locations ranging from athletic fields to fairs and festivals to downtown streetscapes and playgrounds and other on-the-go settings. The program is funded through a $350,000 grant from The Coca-Cola Foundation to Keep America Beautiful, which in turn awards recycling bins through a competitive, merit-based application process.

“Since its inception in 2007, the grant program has made impressive strides toward expanding recycling in public spaces,” says Randy Hartmann, senior director of affiliate operations for Keep America Beautiful. “Through these grants, The Coca-Cola Foundation is reducing two of the primary barriers for on-the-go recycling--accessibility and convenience.”

Eligible recipients for the 2018 Public Spaces Recycling Bin Grant Program include government agencies, colleges and universities, civic organizations, public and local nonprofit groups throughout the U.S.

Keep America Beautiful will award the grants Jan. 2019 and deliver recycling bins directly to the recipients in the first quarter of 2019.

“Community recycling is one of the key ways The Coca-Cola Foundation is helping communities address litter and support the environment. In partnership with Keep America Beautiful, we can help communities reduce litter by offering grants for recycling bins in parks, recreation areas, campuses and city streets,” says Helen Smith Price, The Coca-Cola Foundation president.

In addition to the Foundation’s support, earlier this year The Coca-Cola Co. announced a global goal to collect and recycle the equivalent of 100 percent of the bottles and cans it places in the market by 2030.

To accomplish the goal, Coca-Cola and its bottling partners are working to make better bottles with more recycled and renewable content and supporting waterway clean ups to ensure that its packaging does not end up where it does not belong.