60+ Brands, Retailers, Government Agencies, and NGOs Collaborate to Advance All Plastic Packaging
to become Reusable, Recyclable, or Compostable by 2025
Falls Church, Va., (August 25, 2020) – Today, the U.S. Plastics Pact, a collaborative led by The Recycling Partnership and World Wildlife Fund (W[...]
Plastic pollution is a global crisis. To confront this emergency in the U.S., industry leaders recognized that individual action would not be enough; transformative, systemwide change is required to establish a path toward a circular economy for plastic. Founded as a solutions-driven consortium by T[...]
In October 2022, The Recycling Partnership kicked off By the Numbers, a new webinar series for industry stakeholders focused on current trends in the U.S. recycling system and a circular economy.
The first webinar in this series was held on October 26 and unpacked the data behind plastics recycling[...]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
New “Bridge to Circularity” Report Calls for $500 Million by 2025 to Transform the U.S. Recycling System
Report Emphasizes Need for Creating New Pathways to Recyclability, Unlocking Post-Consumer Material Supply, and Crafting Bold, Transformative Policies Supported by Cut[...]
Created by The Recycling Partnership and SYSTEMIQ, with support from Walmart, Plastic IQ leverages industry best practices and data so companies can build action plans and achieve circularity goals
FALLS CHURCH, Va. (May 5, 2021) – The Recycling Partnership and SYSTEMIQ today launched Plastic IQ,[...]
By Keefe Harrison
(first published on LinkedIn)
As I head into the 2020 Plastics Recycling Conference, the pressing need to protect our environment from plastic waste by activating a truly circular economy is top of mind. This is an important point in time to pivot our society’s current make-to-[...]
By Ben Dixon, Partner, SYSTEMIQ & Keefe Harrison, CEO, The Recycling Partnership
The challenge of plastic waste is too big to ignore and too difficult to solve alone. Good work to collectively reduce the use of virgin plastic and build recycling solutions for more types of plastics is underway. [...]
Actions underway in cities to invest nearly a half-billion dollars on modernized recycling infrastructure and consumer education that will reduce the plastic footprint of America’s beverage companies by increasing the amount of plastic bottles that are collected and remade into new ones
WASHINGTON[...]
“It is extremely disappointing to see that more significant progress has not been made toward the 2025 Global Commitment goals. The Recycling Partnership exists to hold companies accountable and to assist them in the hard work of creating measurable change toward a circular economy for plastics. [...]
Denton Plastics sits where recycling meets results. As a plastics reclaimer, they transform household polypropylene containers into new products like storage bins and lawn furniture. But that downstream success depends on a strong recycling system, one that captures quality material and drives deman[...]
Grant Unlocks New Material, Enables Solutions Testing, and Improves MRF Processing
WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 19, 2022) – The Recycling Partnership’s Film and Flexibles Recycling Coalition (Coalition) announced its first film packaging capture grant to EFS-plastics, a North America-based recycling[...]
by Keefe Harrison, CEO, The Recycling Partnership
As the UN member states wrap up the first Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee session of the Global Plastics Treaty, the pressure to deliver a legally binding instrument that will reverse the current global plastics waste emergency remains high.[...]
Reporting Grantees Are Seeing Ninefold Increase in Polypropylene Capture
By Brittany LaValley, Senior Director of Materials Advancement
With July 2023 marking the three-year anniversary of The Recycling Partnership’s Polypropylene Recycling Coalition, it’s a fitting moment to not only reflec[...]
We agree that plastic recycling isn’t a panacea for plastics waste. However the reality is that the world won’t just stop making plastic tomorrow, so what do we do today?
We must partner to do the hard but impactful work of building a better system; one that focuses on reducing, reusing and th[...]
Earth Day event underscores broad support and solutions for national EPR policy to end plastic waste
OTTAWA, CANADA (April 19, 2024) – Against the backdrop of the fourth meeting of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-4) to develop an international legally binding instrument on pla[...]
An exploration of circular solutions for foam packaging
Packaging plays a critical role in protecting products — including everything from food to household goods – from being harmed during their journey from conveyor belts to household shelves. But to reach a truly circular economy in the U[...]
With the passage of Extended Producer Responsibility laws such as California’s Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act (SB 54), entities must achieve unprecedented levels of circularity. As California prepares for EPR and the potential to see substantial new tons[...]
Polypropylene Recycling Coalition awards nearly $2 million in grants that will impact four million people nationally
FALLS CHURCH, Va. (December 8, 2020) – The Recycling Partnership today announced nearly $2 million in catalytic grants to advance polypropylene recycling in the U.S. through its Po[...]
The Recycling Partnership is committed to advancing a circular economy by building a better recycling system that embraces innovation. This includes technical evolution at the collection level (think electric trucks and improved routing efficiencies), at the MRF level (think AI and robots helping so[...]
For over a decade, Ice River Sustainable Solutions (IRSS) has been building a business on the circularity of plastics in Ontario, Canada. The company supplies 100% recycled PET bottles to water bottling sister company, Ice River Springs, and IRSS operates a state-of-the-art plastics recycling facili[...]
Coalition celebrates two years of catalytic grantmaking that has positively affected recycling access throughout the U.S.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 28, 2022) – The Recycling Partnership’s Polypropylene Recycling Coalition is celebrating the How2Recycle upgrade of polypropylene (PP) rigid contain[...]
Five more grants bring total Polypropylene Recycling Coalition awards to nearly $9 million, impacting 28 million people
The Recycling Partnership’s Polypropylene Recycling Coalition (Coalition) continues its steadfast approach to grantmaking and improving the recovery of polypropylene across the[...]
With a new round of infrastructure grants underway, the work of The Recycling Partnership’s Polypropylene Recycling Coalition highlights an increasing number of recycling facilities investing in sorting and processing polypropylene, demonstrating the expanding commitment to this valuable material.[...]
by Keefe Harrison (she/her/hers) , CEO, The Recycling Partnership
Frustrated that recycling isn’t fixing the world’s waste problem? Here’s the truth: as it’s built now, it never will. If we think we can just keep making and buying whatever we want without any planning for what happens wh[...]
The Recycling Partnership’s Polypropylene Recycling Coalition has awarded more than $6 million in grants since inception, positively impacting nearly 18 million people nationwide
FALLS CHURCH, Va. (April 6, 2022) – The Recycling Partnership today announced its fourth round of grant funding throu[...]
In less than one year, The Recycling Partnership’s Polypropylene Recycling Coalition awarded grants to 13 recycling facilities to increase recycling access by nearly 6%.
FALLS CHURCH, Va. (Aug.24, 2021) – The Recycling Partnership today announced a third round of grant funding through its Polypr[...]
Polypropylene Recycling Coalition brings total awards to nearly $3 million in grants, impacting 7.2 million people nationally.
FALLS CHURCH, Va. (March 31, 2021) – The Recycling Partnership today announced a second round of grant funding through its Polypropylene Recycling Coalition, distributing [...]
Statement for the Record
House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Subcommittee on Environment
July 16, 2025
Keefe Harrison, Chief Executive Officer, The Recycling Partnership
Chairman Palmer, Ranking Member Tonko, and Members of the Committee:
Thank you for inviting me to testify on opportunities [...]
Most of Loss Due to Lack of Access to Recycling Service and Insufficient Communication
WASHINGTON, D.C. Jan. 10, 2024 – Identifying significant, but fixable gaps in the U.S. residential recycling system, a new report from The Recycling Partnership (“The Partnership”), a non-governmental organi[...]
The program will provide the Town of Falmouth and City of Methuen with funding to upgrade curbside recycling cart programs
Washington, D.C. September 6, 2022 – The Recycling Partnership has selected two Massachusetts communities to receive a grant-funded investment to support the Every Bottle Back[...]
I just hopped off the stage at Circularity ’22 and a few things stand out to me about this national drive to improve recycling and launch a circular economy. Clearly people are frustrated that recycling hasn’t fixed the waste problem yet. But before we jump to recycling’s failings, let’[...]
Leading companies from across the value chain take action to
enhance polypropylene circularity with first Request for Proposals
FALLS CHURCH, Va. (July 8, 2020) – The Recycling Partnership is pleased to announce today the launch of its Polypropylene Recycling Coalition, an industry collaboration t[...]
By Keefe Harrison
When the world moves through this terrible coronavirus pandemic, the economy is going to need help. That’s why The Recycling Partnership is working hard, every day, to ensure that the economy that rebounds is a circular one that serves people and the planet.
I grew up in a fami[...]
The Coca-Cola Company, PepsiCo and Keurig Dr Pepper Will Support Circular Plastics Economy
Through Investment and Action, in Conjunction with World Wildlife Fund, The Recycling Partnership & Closed Loop Partners
WASHINGTON – America’s leading beverage companies – The Coca-Cola Company, [...]
Multi-million-dollar investment to provide high-capacity recycling collection carts to improve Providence’s curbside collection system, boost recycling rates
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (March 9, 2026) — Beginning this month, the City of Providence will start delivering new, standardized trash[...]
The Bipartisan CIRCLE Act Expands Recycling Capacity by Incentivizing Investment in
American Recycling Infrastructure
Washington, D.C.— Congressmen Tom Suozzi (D-NY) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) introduced the bipartisan Cultivating Investment in Recycling and Circular Local Economies (CIRCLE) Act[...]
At a brand-new materials recovery facility (MRF) in San Antonio, Texas, film and flexible plastics will be among the processed materials. The seventh-largest city in the United States, San Antonio has close to 1.5 million residents. The city accepts drink bottles, yogurt cups, and other commonly rec[...]
The Recycling Partnership’s By The Numbers webinar series kicked off 2023 with a special webinar in partnership with Resource Recycling’s Policy Now.
By The Numbers Webinar: Transforming U.S. Recycling with EPR, designed for municipal and industry stakeholders as well as policymakers, took a d[...]
Multi-million-dollar public-private partnership among The Recycling Partnership, American Beverage Association, Missouri Beverage Association, Dow and other stakeholders will allow Missouri’s largest city to transition curbside recycling collection to 65-gallon carts starting May 1.
KANSAS C[...]
WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 27, 2024) – The Recycling Partnership (The Partnership) announced today that Dune Ives, Ph.D., and Kate Davenport have joined the organization as Chief Marketing Officer and Chief Policy Officer, respectively. In addition, The Partnership is announcing five new members and o[...]
Six Experts Serving as Launch Advisors
WASHINGTON, D.C. (August 3, 2022) – The Recycling Partnership announced today that it has launched The Center for Sustainable Behavior & Impact (“The Center”) to drive measurable improvement in residential recycling behavior and mobilize household par[...]
Funded by a groundbreaking public-private partnership, the project advances safer, more efficient, and equitable recycling access for nearly 200,000 Baltimore households
BALTIMORE (Sept. 30, 2021) – The City of Baltimore today launched delivery of nearly 200,000 curbside recycling carts, a $10 mil[...]
FALLS CHURCH, VA (July 20, 2021) – The newly-elected Board Directors of The Recycling Partnership bring unmatched sustainability and industry knowledge, and business expertise to help lead The Partnership’s work to transform the U.S. recycling system and activate a circular economy for packaging[...]
Investment and collaboration will make recycling safer, more accessible, and bring the City of Baltimore closer to Zero Waste
(June 23, 2021) The City of Baltimore announced today a groundbreaking collaboration brought together by The Recycling Partnership, with American Beverage’s Every Bottle Ba[...]
National nonprofit The Recycling Partnership is pleased to announce its newest funding partner, the global food and beverage leader, PepsiCo. The organizations have agreed to collaborate on an ambitious cross-sector approach to increasing recycling rates across America.
PepsiCo’s collaborat[...]
Leading companies from across the value chain take action to unlock the environmental and economic benefits of PET recycling.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 8, 2022) – The Recycling Partnership is pleased to announce the launch of its PET Recycling Coalition, an initiative informed by industry knowledge[...]
The Recycling Partnership kicked off 2024 with a By the Numbers webinar focused on its newly released report, “State of Recycling, The Present and Future of Residential Recycling.”
The webinar, held on January 31, 2024, provided a deep dive into the report’s data, highlighted the are[...]
On November 26, hundreds of stakeholders from across the globe will travel to Uruguay, to kick off the first of five sessions of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution.
This marks the beginning of formal U.N. memb[...]
The Recycling Partnership, American Beverage, and the Beverage Association of Tennessee invest in education for enhanced recycling collection, expected to generate millions of new pounds of recyclable material
WASHINGTON D.C. – The City of Nashville on January 11 announced the launch of enhanc[...]
Recently, some have suggested that disposing of materials in landfills is a better option than recycling and that we don’t really have a waste problem at all. We disagree.
Why Landfills Are Not the Answer
Here’s why we can’t just landfill our way out of the vast consumption and d[...]
System solutions for film recovery and recycling are desperately needed to help address the full scale of the plastic waste crisis and save millions of tons of plastic materials from landfills. The Recycling Partnership’s Film and Flexibles Recycling Coalition is on the cutting edge of this wo[...]
The PET Recycling Coalition (Coalition), which launched in June 2022 to improve the circularity of PET packaging in the U.S., announced five new grants to bolster the efficiency and effectiveness of PET recycling at materials recovery facilities (MRFs) and PET reclaimers. This new round of grants, w[...]
The Central Virginia Waste Management Authority (CVWMA) today joined officials from Henrico, Hanover and Goochland counties, and national partners to celebrate the first deliveries of new recycling carts to 95,000 households.
The 95-gallon carts are being delivered to all single-family homes in Henr[...]
Compatible with How2Recycle® and SmartLabel with early adoption by General Mills and Horizon Organic
WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 24, 2023) – The Recycling Partnership (The Partnership) is launching Recycle Check, a package-specific labeling platform providing up-to-date recycling information dire[...]
In 2022, Ocean County’s Northern Recycling Center marketed almost 82,000 pounds of polypropylene, which workers had pulled manually at its single-stream facility.
“That material was primarily iced tea bottles, because they were the easiest to recognize,” said John Stanton, dire[...]
The Coalition’s grant introduces advanced sortation technology to ensure polypropylene stays out of landfills
WASHINGTON, D.C. May 16, 2024 – Today, The Recycling Partnership (“The Partnership”), a nonprofit committed to building a better recycling system, announced its 100th recycling[...]
How2Recycle™ Launches Dynamic Label Utilizing Data from The Recycling Partnership’s National Database to Simplify Recycling
CHICAGO Oct. 3, 2024 –Today, onstage at the How2Recycle Summit, How2Recycle unveiled its new dynamic label offering, How2Recycle Plus, which features The Recycling [...]
Strong industry representation critical to The Partnership’s mission in advancing a circular economy
WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 25, 2022) – Top leaders in sustainability, industry, and the circular economy were elected to The Recycling Partnership’s Board of Directors, supporting The Partnership[...]
In Santa Rosa, California, a newly modernized MRF handles up to 880,000 pounds per day of mixed recyclables from Sonoma and Marin counties. Recology Sonoma Marin, which completed the $35 million modernization and opened the facility in early 2024, worked with The Recycling Partnership to include ded[...]
The Recycling Partnership has just entered its second decade of building a better recycling system. While the system is not perfect, we have seen tremendous change and progress that demonstrates we are well on our way to creating the recycling system we all deserve and know is possible.
Earlier t[...]
With a growing population and aging equipment, leaders in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina had pushed its MRF as far as it could go. In 2022, the county approved a $25.7 million retrofit to its existing MRF, a project set to begin in 2025 which includes a major expansion of the facility’s plasti[...]
HydroBlox, a Pittsburgh-based drainage solution company, lives up to its tagline: “100% recycled and it works better.” As an alternative to drainage pipes, HydroBlox creates permeable products that channel water away from roads, parking lots, yards, and other areas prone to flooding or stormwate[...]
Businesses in rural Colorado communities have significant amounts of film and flexibles packaging, but not enough resources to transport them to recyclers. Colorado’s EPR program – slated to begin implementation in 2026 – offers potential for the material to be included in universal recycling,[...]
Once a small, outdated materials recovery facility (MRF) in Central Texas, the Taylor, Texas site is now a key hub for recovering polypropylene (#5) and other plastics. When Circular Services, formerly Balcones, acquired Wilco Recycling in 2021, the facility lacked the infrastructure to sort polypro[...]
The Partnership’s largest single grant to an individual MRF, supported by PepsiCo, Kraft Heinz, and the Film and Flexibles Recycling Coalition, demonstrates what is possible in the future of recycling.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (August 28, 2025) — Today, The Recycling Partnership (The Partnership) anno[...]
Recycling upgrades made possible through partnerships spearheaded by The Recycling Partnership, America’s leading beverage companies, and the Michigan Soft Drink Association
YPSILANTI TOWNSHIP, Mich., October 25, 2022 – The Recycling Partnership announced Ypsilanti Township, Michigan, has been s[...]
By Dylan de Thomas, Vice President of External Affairs
The California Statewide Commission on Curbside Recycling and Market Development recently published a report to CalRecycle with recommendations regarding a Statewide Standardized Acceptance List of Recyclable Materials (CA Statewide Recyclable L[...]
By: Adam Gendell, Circular Ventures Director
Plastic packaging circularity may seem like a daunting endeavor, but it’s possible. Just take an in-depth look at PET packaging, which is an example of how we can build on successes to support an effective plastic recycling system.
Polyethylene[...]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Dow, Hill’s Pet Nutrition and PepsiCo among funding partners supporting recycling solutions for growing category
FALL CHURCH, VA, September 30, 2019 – The Recycling Partnership announced today the launch of a Film and Flexibles Task Force to define, pilot and scale recyclin[...]
The following op-ed was penned by Partnership CEO Keefe Harrison and originally published in The Hill on January 6, 2018.
As Congress and the Trump administration contemplate a $1 trillion investment in infrastructure, the question of how to utilize those dollars looms large. If the focus is just as[...]
This op-ed by Partnership CEO Keefe Harrison originally appeared in TriplePundit on July 7, 2017.
Target Tackles “Branded Trash” With New Recycling Initiatives
As the U.S. government pulls back from environmental advances, as evidenced by withdrawing from the Paris Agreement, corporation[...]
This article was originally published by Waste360 on May 23, 2017.
Massachusetts Takes A Lead from The Recycling Partnership to Stem Contamination
Most residents believed they understood the rules, as surveys showed. But when DEP tested that theory it saw a huge gap between people’s perception of [...]
Single challenge aims to recycle nearly 2 million tons of material – including 7 billion bottles and cans – resulting in a greenhouse gas avoidance of 5.5 million tons of CO2
PURCHASE, NY (July 31, 2018) – The PepsiCo Foundation, the philanthropic arm of one of the world’s leading food a[...]
By Liz Bedard
As an employee of both The Recycling Partnership and the Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR), I have the unique privilege of viewing the recycling industry from all sides. Suppliers, manufacturers, MRFs, haulers, residents, communities, corporations: you name the audience, I’ve ta[...]
Leading global consumer products company joins efforts to make recycling easier for 25 million families across the country
FALLS CHURCH, VA (November 15, 2018) – Global consumer products company Colgate-Palmolive Company is joining The Recycling Partnership and PepsiCo Foundation’s recycling cha[...]
The Sustainable Packaging Coalition & The Recycling Partnership studied how plastic, paper, glass, aluminum, cartons and steel packaging fared in material recovery facilities & reprocessor facilities
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (JUNE 11TH, 2019) — ASTRX (Applying Systems Thinking to Recycling), th[...]
Featuring Sarah Dearman and Steph Kersten-Johnston
We’ve recently welcomed two new staff members who have joined us from the corporate world: Sarah Dearman, formerly Sustainable Packaging Program Director at Coca-Cola North America, is now our new VP of New Ventures; Steph Kersten-Johnston, forme[...]
New funds highlight state’s Know It Before You Throw It education campaign
that will help Michigan reach goal of doubling state’s recycling rate to 30% by 2025
DETROIT – The City of Detroit is receiving nearly $1 million in grants to support the largest expansion of recycling in the city’s h[...]
Curbside recycling expansion in Big Bear, Calif., made possible through public-private partnerships spearheaded by America’s leading beverage companies
BIG BEAR, Calif. – The American Beverage Association, in partnership with The Recycling Partnership, announced today the Big Bear City Communit[...]
The ultimate fate of recycling rests in the hands of a broad set of stakeholders who must all take action to support the transition to a circular economy
FALLS CHURCH, Va., (Feb. 13, 2020) – For curbside recycling in the United States to deliver its enormous potential economic and environmental be[...]
Congressional Webinar: Recycling 101 & Impacts of COVID-19
New survey data from The Recycling Partnership and SWNS confirms that 85% of Americans strongly believe in recycling. This is especially timely as we all navigate the COVID-19 pandemic and its impacts on communities and recycling busines[...]
(Falls Church, Va.) – The newly elected Board of Directors for The Recycling Partnership brings sustainability and industry knowledge and reach, paired with business expertise to advance the nation toward a circular economy. The Recycling Partnership is a national nonprofit that guides corporate[...]
$2.7 Million in Grants Awarded Following The Recycling Partnership’s 2019 50 Cities Leadership Summit Transforming Recycling Programs Nationwide
Falls Church, Va. (Oct. 08, 2020) – Just one year after hosting its inaugural Leadership Summit, which saw a select 50 cities invited for a two-day r[...]
Know What to Throw
When educating around what goes in – or doesn’t go in a recycling cart – messaging space is limited and attention spans are short. The Recycling Partnership recently set out to identify best practices for signage and mailers to help determine how to communicate the most effe[...]
By Keefe Harrison
(previously posted by Keefe on LinkedIn)
My Recycling Partnership team has a term to describe units of time in the world of our company – it’s “Partnership Years” – sort of like “Dog Years” I suppose, only better, in that a lot of work and progress gets packed into a [...]
A grant from The Recycling Partnership is expanding public space and beachside recycling access and educating residents how to improve their curbside recycling
NARRAGANSETT, R.I. (Nov. 18, 2020) – Narragansett beachgoers and residents will soon have additional access to enable recycling where they[...]
We’re all spending more time at home consuming more products in our homes. Are you also recycling everything you can in your curbside recycling?
Every community recycling program is different, so it’s important you check your community’s website for what is and isn’t recyclable in your neigh[...]
The report finds investment to improve the residential recycling system in the U.S. over the next five years would deliver significant environmental and financial benefits, including:
Save 710 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent;
Reduce the average water usage of 30 million people;
Save the equiv[...]
The City of Norcross and The Recycling Partnership launch citywide cart-tagging campaign to dramatically improve curbside residential recycling, part of a $15,000 grant
NORCROSS (GWINNETT COUNTY), GA (SEPTEMBER 10, 2021) – On Monday, September 13, 2021, the City of Norcross will begin checkin[...]
Plastic bags, pouches, and wraps, collectively known as film and flexible packaging (FFP), have long been recycling’s biggest headache. They jam equipment, contaminate material streams, and rarely get recovered.
With a $4.25 million grant from The Recycling Partnership, FCC Environmental Services[...]
60+ Brands, Retailers, Government Agencies, and NGOs Collaborate to Advance All Plastic Packaging
to become Reusable, Recyclable, or Compostable by 2025
Falls Church, Va., (August 25, 2020) – Today, the U.S. Plastics Pact, a collaborative led by The Recycling Partnership and World Wildlife Fund (W[...]
In October 2022, The Recycling Partnership kicked off By the Numbers, a new webinar series for industry stakeholders focused on current trends in the U.S. recycling system and a circular economy.
The first webinar in this series was held on October 26 and unpacked the data behind plastics recycling[...]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
New “Bridge to Circularity” Report Calls for $500 Million by 2025 to Transform the U.S. Recycling System
Report Emphasizes Need for Creating New Pathways to Recyclability, Unlocking Post-Consumer Material Supply, and Crafting Bold, Transformative Policies Supported by Cut[...]
Created by The Recycling Partnership and SYSTEMIQ, with support from Walmart, Plastic IQ leverages industry best practices and data so companies can build action plans and achieve circularity goals
FALLS CHURCH, Va. (May 5, 2021) – The Recycling Partnership and SYSTEMIQ today launched Plastic IQ,[...]
By Keefe Harrison
(first published on LinkedIn)
As I head into the 2020 Plastics Recycling Conference, the pressing need to protect our environment from plastic waste by activating a truly circular economy is top of mind. This is an important point in time to pivot our society’s current make-to-[...]
By Ben Dixon, Partner, SYSTEMIQ & Keefe Harrison, CEO, The Recycling Partnership
The challenge of plastic waste is too big to ignore and too difficult to solve alone. Good work to collectively reduce the use of virgin plastic and build recycling solutions for more types of plastics is underway. [...]
Actions underway in cities to invest nearly a half-billion dollars on modernized recycling infrastructure and consumer education that will reduce the plastic footprint of America’s beverage companies by increasing the amount of plastic bottles that are collected and remade into new ones
WASHINGTON[...]
“It is extremely disappointing to see that more significant progress has not been made toward the 2025 Global Commitment goals. The Recycling Partnership exists to hold companies accountable and to assist them in the hard work of creating measurable change toward a circular economy for plastics. [...]
Grant Unlocks New Material, Enables Solutions Testing, and Improves MRF Processing
WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 19, 2022) – The Recycling Partnership’s Film and Flexibles Recycling Coalition (Coalition) announced its first film packaging capture grant to EFS-plastics, a North America-based recycling[...]
Reporting Grantees Are Seeing Ninefold Increase in Polypropylene Capture
By Brittany LaValley, Senior Director of Materials Advancement
With July 2023 marking the three-year anniversary of The Recycling Partnership’s Polypropylene Recycling Coalition, it’s a fitting moment to not only reflec[...]
We agree that plastic recycling isn’t a panacea for plastics waste. However the reality is that the world won’t just stop making plastic tomorrow, so what do we do today?
We must partner to do the hard but impactful work of building a better system; one that focuses on reducing, reusing and th[...]
Earth Day event underscores broad support and solutions for national EPR policy to end plastic waste
OTTAWA, CANADA (April 19, 2024) – Against the backdrop of the fourth meeting of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-4) to develop an international legally binding instrument on pla[...]
Polypropylene Recycling Coalition awards nearly $2 million in grants that will impact four million people nationally
FALLS CHURCH, Va. (December 8, 2020) – The Recycling Partnership today announced nearly $2 million in catalytic grants to advance polypropylene recycling in the U.S. through its Po[...]
The Recycling Partnership is committed to advancing a circular economy by building a better recycling system that embraces innovation. This includes technical evolution at the collection level (think electric trucks and improved routing efficiencies), at the MRF level (think AI and robots helping so[...]
Coalition celebrates two years of catalytic grantmaking that has positively affected recycling access throughout the U.S.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 28, 2022) – The Recycling Partnership’s Polypropylene Recycling Coalition is celebrating the How2Recycle upgrade of polypropylene (PP) rigid contain[...]
Five more grants bring total Polypropylene Recycling Coalition awards to nearly $9 million, impacting 28 million people
The Recycling Partnership’s Polypropylene Recycling Coalition (Coalition) continues its steadfast approach to grantmaking and improving the recovery of polypropylene across the[...]
The Recycling Partnership’s Polypropylene Recycling Coalition has awarded more than $6 million in grants since inception, positively impacting nearly 18 million people nationwide
FALLS CHURCH, Va. (April 6, 2022) – The Recycling Partnership today announced its fourth round of grant funding throu[...]
In less than one year, The Recycling Partnership’s Polypropylene Recycling Coalition awarded grants to 13 recycling facilities to increase recycling access by nearly 6%.
FALLS CHURCH, Va. (Aug.24, 2021) – The Recycling Partnership today announced a third round of grant funding through its Polypr[...]
Polypropylene Recycling Coalition brings total awards to nearly $3 million in grants, impacting 7.2 million people nationally.
FALLS CHURCH, Va. (March 31, 2021) – The Recycling Partnership today announced a second round of grant funding through its Polypropylene Recycling Coalition, distributing [...]
Most of Loss Due to Lack of Access to Recycling Service and Insufficient Communication
WASHINGTON, D.C. Jan. 10, 2024 – Identifying significant, but fixable gaps in the U.S. residential recycling system, a new report from The Recycling Partnership (“The Partnership”), a non-governmental organi[...]
The program will provide the Town of Falmouth and City of Methuen with funding to upgrade curbside recycling cart programs
Washington, D.C. September 6, 2022 – The Recycling Partnership has selected two Massachusetts communities to receive a grant-funded investment to support the Every Bottle Back[...]
Leading companies from across the value chain take action to
enhance polypropylene circularity with first Request for Proposals
FALLS CHURCH, Va. (July 8, 2020) – The Recycling Partnership is pleased to announce today the launch of its Polypropylene Recycling Coalition, an industry collaboration t[...]
By Keefe Harrison
When the world moves through this terrible coronavirus pandemic, the economy is going to need help. That’s why The Recycling Partnership is working hard, every day, to ensure that the economy that rebounds is a circular one that serves people and the planet.
I grew up in a fami[...]
The Coca-Cola Company, PepsiCo and Keurig Dr Pepper Will Support Circular Plastics Economy
Through Investment and Action, in Conjunction with World Wildlife Fund, The Recycling Partnership & Closed Loop Partners
WASHINGTON – America’s leading beverage companies – The Coca-Cola Company, [...]
Multi-million-dollar investment to provide high-capacity recycling collection carts to improve Providence’s curbside collection system, boost recycling rates
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (March 9, 2026) — Beginning this month, the City of Providence will start delivering new, standardized trash[...]
The Bipartisan CIRCLE Act Expands Recycling Capacity by Incentivizing Investment in
American Recycling Infrastructure
Washington, D.C.— Congressmen Tom Suozzi (D-NY) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) introduced the bipartisan Cultivating Investment in Recycling and Circular Local Economies (CIRCLE) Act[...]
The Recycling Partnership’s By The Numbers webinar series kicked off 2023 with a special webinar in partnership with Resource Recycling’s Policy Now.
By The Numbers Webinar: Transforming U.S. Recycling with EPR, designed for municipal and industry stakeholders as well as policymakers, took a d[...]
Multi-million-dollar public-private partnership among The Recycling Partnership, American Beverage Association, Missouri Beverage Association, Dow and other stakeholders will allow Missouri’s largest city to transition curbside recycling collection to 65-gallon carts starting May 1.
KANSAS C[...]
WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 27, 2024) – The Recycling Partnership (The Partnership) announced today that Dune Ives, Ph.D., and Kate Davenport have joined the organization as Chief Marketing Officer and Chief Policy Officer, respectively. In addition, The Partnership is announcing five new members and o[...]
Six Experts Serving as Launch Advisors
WASHINGTON, D.C. (August 3, 2022) – The Recycling Partnership announced today that it has launched The Center for Sustainable Behavior & Impact (“The Center”) to drive measurable improvement in residential recycling behavior and mobilize household par[...]
Funded by a groundbreaking public-private partnership, the project advances safer, more efficient, and equitable recycling access for nearly 200,000 Baltimore households
BALTIMORE (Sept. 30, 2021) – The City of Baltimore today launched delivery of nearly 200,000 curbside recycling carts, a $10 mil[...]
FALLS CHURCH, VA (July 20, 2021) – The newly-elected Board Directors of The Recycling Partnership bring unmatched sustainability and industry knowledge, and business expertise to help lead The Partnership’s work to transform the U.S. recycling system and activate a circular economy for packaging[...]
Investment and collaboration will make recycling safer, more accessible, and bring the City of Baltimore closer to Zero Waste
(June 23, 2021) The City of Baltimore announced today a groundbreaking collaboration brought together by The Recycling Partnership, with American Beverage’s Every Bottle Ba[...]
National nonprofit The Recycling Partnership is pleased to announce its newest funding partner, the global food and beverage leader, PepsiCo. The organizations have agreed to collaborate on an ambitious cross-sector approach to increasing recycling rates across America.
PepsiCo’s collaborat[...]
Leading companies from across the value chain take action to unlock the environmental and economic benefits of PET recycling.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 8, 2022) – The Recycling Partnership is pleased to announce the launch of its PET Recycling Coalition, an initiative informed by industry knowledge[...]
The Recycling Partnership kicked off 2024 with a By the Numbers webinar focused on its newly released report, “State of Recycling, The Present and Future of Residential Recycling.”
The webinar, held on January 31, 2024, provided a deep dive into the report’s data, highlighted the are[...]
The Recycling Partnership, American Beverage, and the Beverage Association of Tennessee invest in education for enhanced recycling collection, expected to generate millions of new pounds of recyclable material
WASHINGTON D.C. – The City of Nashville on January 11 announced the launch of enhanc[...]
The Central Virginia Waste Management Authority (CVWMA) today joined officials from Henrico, Hanover and Goochland counties, and national partners to celebrate the first deliveries of new recycling carts to 95,000 households.
The 95-gallon carts are being delivered to all single-family homes in Henr[...]
Compatible with How2Recycle® and SmartLabel with early adoption by General Mills and Horizon Organic
WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 24, 2023) – The Recycling Partnership (The Partnership) is launching Recycle Check, a package-specific labeling platform providing up-to-date recycling information dire[...]
The Coalition’s grant introduces advanced sortation technology to ensure polypropylene stays out of landfills
WASHINGTON, D.C. May 16, 2024 – Today, The Recycling Partnership (“The Partnership”), a nonprofit committed to building a better recycling system, announced its 100th recycling[...]
How2Recycle™ Launches Dynamic Label Utilizing Data from The Recycling Partnership’s National Database to Simplify Recycling
CHICAGO Oct. 3, 2024 –Today, onstage at the How2Recycle Summit, How2Recycle unveiled its new dynamic label offering, How2Recycle Plus, which features The Recycling [...]
Strong industry representation critical to The Partnership’s mission in advancing a circular economy
WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 25, 2022) – Top leaders in sustainability, industry, and the circular economy were elected to The Recycling Partnership’s Board of Directors, supporting The Partnership[...]
The Recycling Partnership has just entered its second decade of building a better recycling system. While the system is not perfect, we have seen tremendous change and progress that demonstrates we are well on our way to creating the recycling system we all deserve and know is possible.
Earlier t[...]
Once a small, outdated materials recovery facility (MRF) in Central Texas, the Taylor, Texas site is now a key hub for recovering polypropylene (#5) and other plastics. When Circular Services, formerly Balcones, acquired Wilco Recycling in 2021, the facility lacked the infrastructure to sort polypro[...]
The Partnership’s largest single grant to an individual MRF, supported by PepsiCo, Kraft Heinz, and the Film and Flexibles Recycling Coalition, demonstrates what is possible in the future of recycling.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (August 28, 2025) — Today, The Recycling Partnership (The Partnership) anno[...]
Recycling upgrades made possible through partnerships spearheaded by The Recycling Partnership, America’s leading beverage companies, and the Michigan Soft Drink Association
YPSILANTI TOWNSHIP, Mich., October 25, 2022 – The Recycling Partnership announced Ypsilanti Township, Michigan, has been s[...]
By Dylan de Thomas, Vice President of External Affairs
The California Statewide Commission on Curbside Recycling and Market Development recently published a report to CalRecycle with recommendations regarding a Statewide Standardized Acceptance List of Recyclable Materials (CA Statewide Recyclable L[...]
By: Adam Gendell, Circular Ventures Director
Plastic packaging circularity may seem like a daunting endeavor, but it’s possible. Just take an in-depth look at PET packaging, which is an example of how we can build on successes to support an effective plastic recycling system.
Polyethylene[...]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Dow, Hill’s Pet Nutrition and PepsiCo among funding partners supporting recycling solutions for growing category
FALL CHURCH, VA, September 30, 2019 – The Recycling Partnership announced today the launch of a Film and Flexibles Task Force to define, pilot and scale recyclin[...]
The following op-ed was penned by Partnership CEO Keefe Harrison and originally published in The Hill on January 6, 2018.
As Congress and the Trump administration contemplate a $1 trillion investment in infrastructure, the question of how to utilize those dollars looms large. If the focus is just as[...]
This article was originally published by Waste360 on May 23, 2017.
Massachusetts Takes A Lead from The Recycling Partnership to Stem Contamination
Most residents believed they understood the rules, as surveys showed. But when DEP tested that theory it saw a huge gap between people’s perception of [...]
Single challenge aims to recycle nearly 2 million tons of material – including 7 billion bottles and cans – resulting in a greenhouse gas avoidance of 5.5 million tons of CO2
PURCHASE, NY (July 31, 2018) – The PepsiCo Foundation, the philanthropic arm of one of the world’s leading food a[...]
Leading global consumer products company joins efforts to make recycling easier for 25 million families across the country
FALLS CHURCH, VA (November 15, 2018) – Global consumer products company Colgate-Palmolive Company is joining The Recycling Partnership and PepsiCo Foundation’s recycling cha[...]
The Sustainable Packaging Coalition & The Recycling Partnership studied how plastic, paper, glass, aluminum, cartons and steel packaging fared in material recovery facilities & reprocessor facilities
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (JUNE 11TH, 2019) — ASTRX (Applying Systems Thinking to Recycling), th[...]
New funds highlight state’s Know It Before You Throw It education campaign
that will help Michigan reach goal of doubling state’s recycling rate to 30% by 2025
DETROIT – The City of Detroit is receiving nearly $1 million in grants to support the largest expansion of recycling in the city’s h[...]
Curbside recycling expansion in Big Bear, Calif., made possible through public-private partnerships spearheaded by America’s leading beverage companies
BIG BEAR, Calif. – The American Beverage Association, in partnership with The Recycling Partnership, announced today the Big Bear City Communit[...]
The ultimate fate of recycling rests in the hands of a broad set of stakeholders who must all take action to support the transition to a circular economy
FALLS CHURCH, Va., (Feb. 13, 2020) – For curbside recycling in the United States to deliver its enormous potential economic and environmental be[...]
Congressional Webinar: Recycling 101 & Impacts of COVID-19
New survey data from The Recycling Partnership and SWNS confirms that 85% of Americans strongly believe in recycling. This is especially timely as we all navigate the COVID-19 pandemic and its impacts on communities and recycling busines[...]
(Falls Church, Va.) – The newly elected Board of Directors for The Recycling Partnership brings sustainability and industry knowledge and reach, paired with business expertise to advance the nation toward a circular economy. The Recycling Partnership is a national nonprofit that guides corporate[...]
$2.7 Million in Grants Awarded Following The Recycling Partnership’s 2019 50 Cities Leadership Summit Transforming Recycling Programs Nationwide
Falls Church, Va. (Oct. 08, 2020) – Just one year after hosting its inaugural Leadership Summit, which saw a select 50 cities invited for a two-day r[...]
By Keefe Harrison
(previously posted by Keefe on LinkedIn)
My Recycling Partnership team has a term to describe units of time in the world of our company – it’s “Partnership Years” – sort of like “Dog Years” I suppose, only better, in that a lot of work and progress gets packed into a [...]
A grant from The Recycling Partnership is expanding public space and beachside recycling access and educating residents how to improve their curbside recycling
NARRAGANSETT, R.I. (Nov. 18, 2020) – Narragansett beachgoers and residents will soon have additional access to enable recycling where they[...]
The report finds investment to improve the residential recycling system in the U.S. over the next five years would deliver significant environmental and financial benefits, including:
Save 710 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent;
Reduce the average water usage of 30 million people;
Save the equiv[...]
The City of Norcross and The Recycling Partnership launch citywide cart-tagging campaign to dramatically improve curbside residential recycling, part of a $15,000 grant
NORCROSS (GWINNETT COUNTY), GA (SEPTEMBER 10, 2021) – On Monday, September 13, 2021, the City of Norcross will begin checkin[...]
