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 work, live, and play as public space recycling and education make waves across the community.
A grant from The Recycling Partnership, a national nonprofit that works to transform community recycling programs to increase access to recycling, invest in recycling infrastructure, and improve the quality of recyclables in the recycling stream, will lead to 10 new solar trash and recycling receptacles in Port of Galilee. The Partnership, with financial support provided by Poland Spring® Brand 100% Natural Spring Water, has already supported the Town with additional public space recycling containers and recycling education for the Town’s 8,570 residents.
“Recycling is a valuable and essential public service for Narragansett residents and visitors,” said Matthew Mannix, Council President for the Town of Narragansett. “By expanding recycling access and education, we are providing opportunities for our residents and beachgoers to protect the environment and keep our beaches clean and beautiful.”
Narragansett’s solar-powered trash and recycling receptacles, known as CleanCUBEs, will be located at five waste disposal points in the Port of Galilee. The disposal locations will include one bin for recycling and one for trash and will feature automatic compacting on the trash receptacles.
The CleanCUBEs will feature CleanCityNetwork (CCN), an all-in-one tool that will provide measurement, analytics and insight into public space recycling as well as alert Town officials when the receptacles are full.
“The Recycling Partnership, with support from Poland Spring, is honored to partner with the Town of Narragansett to improve recycling access, infrastructure, and education,” said Chris Coady, Director of Community Programs for The Recycling Partnership. “When residents recycle correctly, it supports local jobs, protects our planet, and helps keep our beaches and oceans clean and waste free.”
In addition to expanding access to public space recycling through additional infrastructure, The Partnership provided recycling education to Town residents via a mailed recycling information card, explaining what can and cannot be recycled at curbside in Narragansett. The Recycling Partnership grant was sponsored in part by Poland Spring. The Brand and parent company Nestlé Waters North America are committed to improving recycling access, infrastructure and education across the country. In June 2019, Poland Spring made an industry-leading announcement that it would use 100% recycled plastic by 2022 across its still water portfolio.
“We’re pleased to support the efforts of organizations like The Recycling Partnership that help make it more convenient for people to recycle at the beach and on-the-go,” said David Tulauskas, Chief Sustainability Officer at Nestlé Waters North America. “As Narragansett residents and visitors recycle more of their empty water bottles, that helps keep them off the beach and out of the ocean, and helps increase the supply of recycled PET plastic that can be used to make new recycled plastic bottles. Bottles made with other bottles provide tangible proof that recycling works and the circular economy for plastics is achievable.”
In Narragansett, recycling should be loose and not in bags. Items with food residue, batteries, and small electronics and Styrofoam™ should not be placed in curbside and public space recycling containers. Many of these materials can cause equipment jams at recycling processing facilities, which can create hazards for recycling facility workers.
Now, more than ever, Rhode Island residents view recycling as an essential public service. And during a time of social distancing where many non-essential employees are working from home and commercial recycling is near an all-time low, producers see residential recycling programs as a critical supplier for manufacturing.
For more information on how to recycle more, better in Narragansett, visit: https://www.narragansettri.gov/463/Solid-Waste-Recycling
About The Recycling Partnership
The Recycling Partnership is a national nonprofit organization that leverages corporate partner funding to transform recycling for good in states, cities, and communities nationwide. As the leading organization in the country that engages the full recycling supply chain from the corporations that manufacture products and packaging to local governments charged with recycling to industry end markets, haulers, material recovery facilities, and converters, The Recycling Partnership positively impacts recycling at every step in the process. Since 2014, the nonprofit change agent diverted 230 million pounds of new recyclables from landfills, saved 465 million gallons of water, avoided more than 250,000 metric tons of greenhouse gases, and drove significant reductions in targeted contamination rates. Learn more at recyclingpartnership.org
About Poland Spring® Brand 100% Natural Spring Water
Established in 1845, Poland Spring® Brand 100% Natural Spring Water has been served throughout the Northeast for more than 170 years. Filtered by 10,000-year-old glacial aquifers of Maine, Poland Spring® offers a crisp, refreshing taste. Poland Spring® has no additives, only the naturally occurring electrolytes that provide a crisp, refreshing taste. To learn more, visit: https://www.polandspring.com/