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Center for Sustainable Behavior & Impact to Drive Improvement in Recycling Behavior and Boost Confidence in U.S. Recycling
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[...]
Regional Recycling Impact Workshop
The Recycling Partnership and NERC present the 2019 Regional Recycling Impact Workshop
Harness the power of your program through tools for fighting contamination, education and outreach, and harmonizing your message to create a stronger recycling system throughout the 11-state region.
The North[...]
Polypropylene Recycling Coalition Reports Meaningful, Measurable Impact on Three-Year Anniversary
Reporting Grantees Show Ninefold Increase in Polypropylene Capture
WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 29, 2023) – The Recycling Partnership (“The Partnership”) today reported on the progress of the Polypropylene Recycling Coalition (“Coalition”) and provided insights into the changing landscape of p[...]
Three Years of Meaningful, Measurable Impact: How The Polypropylene Coalition Is Driving Progress in Recycling for #5 Plastic
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[...]
The Recycling Partnership’s Position on Chemical Recycling: Marketplace Evolution Must Support People and the Planet
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[...]
First-of-its-Kind Recycling Confidence Index: Not Surprisingly Confidence is Heavily Impacted by Communication and Support
With the launch of The Center for Sustainable Behavior & Impact, The Recycling Partnership conducted research for a first-ever Recycling Confidence Index, which included the following results and key findings.
By: Elizabeth Schussler, Senior Director of Social Change, Behavior, and Impact
To a[...]
The Recycling Partnership Reports Impact to Date on Aluminum Recycling
Recycling Initiative Drives Capture of 4.1 Million New Pounds of Aluminum Annually
WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 4, 2023) – The Recycling Partnership reported today on the impact of its Aluminum Recycling Initiative (Initiative). Under the Initiative five grants have been issued for the continued a[...]
May 2020 Impact Report
Blog: Does EPR Increase Consumer Costs? Spoiler alert – Not as Much as Critics Say
By: Michael Washburn, Ph.D., Senior Policy Advisor
The U.S. recycling system is not one unified entity – it is a network of 9,000 separate local recycling programs. Recycling access, infrastructure and education have been underfunded for far too long, leaving many U.S. residents, more than 40 mill[...]
National Sword: What is it and how will it impact my program?
This webinar, hosted by The Recycling Partnership’s VP of Industry Collaboration and resident National Sword expert Dylan de Thomas, gives a critical update on what China’s scrap ban and customs enforcement actions are and where it came from. It also covers the potential impact on markets, M[...]
Partnership Powers Progress: June Impact Report 2019
Check out our June 2019 Impact Report and learn about the $73 million in value we have delivered to transform recycling for good.
See how we are working together with communities, our funding partners, and the industry to drive change coast to coast and create a stronger economy, healthier p[...]
Scaling System Solutions for Action and Impact in the U.S. and Beyond
A “Do-ers” Reflection on Stockholm+50 & the United Nations Ocean Conference
by Keefe Harrison (she/her/hers) , CEO, The Recycling Partnership
There is a palpable sense of urgency for environmental action. And it’s not just that we can feel it, we can see it.
The next generati[...]
The Recycling Partnership Surpasses $240 Million in Environmental and Economic Value Creation
Since 2014 the nation’s leading recycling nonprofit has reached over 100 million households diverting 770 million incremental pounds of recyclables from landfills
WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 15, 2022) – The Recycling Partnership has released its Impact Report 2022: Complex Problems Require [...]
By the Numbers Webinar Recording: A Deep Dive into the State of Recycling Report
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[...]
Empowering People to Recycle Right
If every home in the U.S. had convenient access to recycling, more than half of recyclable material would still be lost. Why? Because most Americans are confused about what and how to recycle. No recycling system performs at a high level without winning the hearts and minds of consumers to use it pr[...]
Advancing Recyclability of All Materials through the Polypropylene Recycling Coalition
The Polypropylene Recycling Coalition demonstrates the benefits to the entire recycling system that can result from efforts to solve material- specific recycling challenges. Polypropylene is an important packaging material increasingly used for various food and nonfood products; it is estimated to b[...]
Improving MRF Infrastructure to Increase Can Capture
Aluminum cans are among the most widely accepted packages for recycling. Within the packaging industry, they have leading recycled content rates and are consistently among the most valuable materials by weight in the recycling stream. However, according to Can Manufacturers Institute research, up to[...]
Read: 2022 Impact Report
The Recycling Partnership Launches the Recycling Program Solutions Hub for Local Recycling Staff and Leaders
A new free resource to advance recycling data, knowledge, and connectivity
WASHINGTON, D.C. Oct. 17, 2023 – Today The Recycling Partnership (“The Partnership”) is launching the Recycling Program Solutions Hub (Hub) nationwide, an interactive tool and resource designed for local recycling staff[...]
Incorporating Motivational Messaging for Recycling Education and Outreach Webinar Recording
The right messaging, targeted to the appropriate audience(s), can make all the difference in helping people to properly recycle every chance they get. That’s what we cover in this webinar recording: Incorporating Motivational Messaging for Recycling Education and Outreach.
What You Will Learn
[...]
Behavior Change
The Recycling Partnership is Transforming for Good
2020 Impact Report Tells Story of the National Nonprofit Catalyzing Change to Move the U.S. Toward a Circular Economy
Scaling Statewide Transformation in Michigan
The state of Michigan established the goal of increasing statewide recycling from 14% in 2019 to 45% by 2030. To reach this target, the state increased funding for recycling support, leading to a multiyear collaboration between the state’s Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) [...]
Driving Packaging Strategies with Plastic IQ
As U.S. companies seek to reduce waste, meet sustainability goals, and stay competitive, many are committing to ambitious packaging strategies designed to end plastic waste. But not all companies have data-driven resources to define these strategies. Plastic IQ is a free, digital strategy-building t[...]
Creating Clarity on the Pathway to Circularity
Navigating the recycling system has historically been challenging, in part because there are no widely accepted recyclability standards. Our Pathway to Circularity for Packaging, another example of collaboration to solve a complex challenge, was created to wash away the gray and bring necessary clar[...]
Improving the Quality of Recyclables in Orange County
When it comes to capturing the different materials that enter the U.S. residential recycling system, it is as important for residents to know what cannot be recycled as it is to know what can be recycled. Excessive contamination can cause a host of problems once the material is collected. The curbsi[...]
Overcoming Recycling Challenges through Coalitions
When a package or material does not meet the criteria for recyclability (see page 23, Pathway to Circularity), companies are encouraged to take action. Coalitions can address the recycling challenges of today and consider solutions for the challenges of tomorrow.
The Partnership currently leads thre[...]
Closing the Equity Gap through the Recycling Inclusion Fund
Our research shows that recycling services disadvantage certain streets, neighborhoods, and housing types along socioeconomic lines. Nearly 40 million U.S. residents lack the same level of access to recycling as they have to garbage service. That access gap is even larger for residents of multifamil[...]
Big City Modernization in Baltimore
The Partnership’s unique model of bringing communities and funding partners together, creates meaningful opportunities to drive large scale change in big cities. Prior to the fall of 2021, Baltimore, Maryland, residents lacked a consistent solution for recycling access, making it difficult for the[...]
Expanding Equitable Recycling Access in Orlando
When it comes to recycling access, multifamily communities are among the most underserved in the U.S. Members of the BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) community are approximately twice as likely to live in multifamily housing as non-BIPOC community members. That’s why The Partnership [...]
Expediting Circularity through U.S. Plastics Pact
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[...]
Report Shows Only 21% of U.S. Residential Recyclables are Captured, Points to Policy and Investment as Immediate Solutions
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[...]
Louise Bruce
Incorporating Motivational Messaging for Recycling Education and Outreach Webinar on September 27
Please join The Recycling Partnership for the Incorporating Motivational Messaging for Recycling Education and Outreach Webinar on September 27, 2023, at 1 pm ET.
The right messaging, targeted to the appropriate audience(s), can make all the difference in helping people to properly recycle every [...]
Blog: Improving Recycling in Minnesota
Multifamily Recycling Success: How Minnesota Is Making a Difference
From college dorms to apartment buildings, multifamily properties often pose unique challenges when it comes to recycling efforts. But four Minnesota communities are proving that education and outreach can have a significant impact [...]
Behavior Change is at the Heart of Everything We Do
By: Elizabeth Schussler, Senior Director of Social Change, Behavior, and Impact
At The Recycling Partnership, behavior change is at the heart of everything we do because people and the planet are at our core. A focus on recycling behavior and the impacts of behavior are ingrained in our DNA and our[...]
Privacy Policy
By The Numbers Webinar: Unpacking the Data Behind Plastics Recycling
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[...]
Study of Extended Producer Responsibility Policy Across 7 Jurisdictions Worldwide Shows it Dramatically Increases Recycling Rates
The Recycling Partnership analysis shows that U.S. states could expect an increase in recycling rates with the introduction of EPR law
WASHINGTON, D.C. Feb. 2, 2023 – States can expect significant increases in recycling rates for packaging (including plastic, glass, aluminum and steel) and printe[...]
$1.2 Million in Grants Awarded to Spur Advancement of Polypropylene Recycling
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[...]
Deep Dive into Addressing the Intention-Action Gap in Recycling
“How can we support people, how can we design tools and solutions that make it easiest for people to dig in and participate and support the great work of recycling?”
— Louise Bruce, managing director of The Recycling Partnership’s Center for Sustainable Behavior & Impact
Last month,[...]
The Recycling Partnership’s Polypropylene Recycling Coalition Celebrates “Widely Recyclable” Upgrade
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[...]
Recycling Behavior Change Insights Question and Answer Webinar on November 29
During the Motivational Messaging and In-Home Recycling webinars, you had questions. And there just wasn’t enough time to answer them so we brought back our speakers for a special Q&A Follow Up Webinar. We answered questions about how to unlock the secrets of effective recycling messagin[...]
Research and Insights into Recycling Behavior Inside the Home Webinar
Recycling is a complex reverse supply chain that begins in the household, but there is limited visibility into what actually happens in the home behind closed doors. While we know approximately half of all household recyclables never make it to a materials recycling facility, nobody knows exactly wh[...]
Research and Insights into Recycling Behavior Inside the Home Webinar on October 25
Want to unlock the recycling potential of your community? Tune into our webinar on October 25, 2023, at 1 pm ET.
Recycling is a complex reverse supply chain that begins in the household, but there is limited visibility into what actually happens in the home behind closed doors. While we know approxi[...]
EPR 101
How to Address the Intention-Action Gap in Recycling
The Recycling Partnership’s Center for Sustainable Behavior & Impact’s new Knowledge Report presents four themes for accelerating recycling best practices
Recycling is a complex, reverse supply chain—and its success depends on the small, everyday actions of hundreds of millions of people. [...]
Knowledge Report | The Keys to Accelerating Recycling Best Practices
Kyra Levau
By The Numbers Webinar: Transforming U.S. Recycling with EPR
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[...]
Circular Packaging 101
The Time to Act is Now: New Yorkers Need Leadership from State Legislators to Increase Recycling, Reduce Landfilling, and fight Climate Change
National and State Not-for-Profit and Non-Governmental Organizations Join Together to Say Pass Extended Producer Responsibility Legislation in 2022 and Take the Burden off Taxpayers and Communities
ALBANY, NY (May 9, 2022) – The New York State legislature has three weeks left this session to remov[...]
Press Release: The Partnership and TDEC, with Love Beauty and Planet, Help Expand Curbside Recycling Collection in Nashville
The Recycling Partnership and Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, with Love Beauty and Planet, Help Expand Curbside Recycling Collection in Nashville
Collection to go from once a month to every other week by early 2020
A combined $2.8 million grant from The Recycling Partnership a[...]
Nearly 100 Michigan Communities Collaborate with State, National Partners to Dramatically Improve the Capture of Valuable Recyclables
Michigan EGLE and The Recycling Partnership have awarded nearly $791,000 in grant funding that will impact 98 communities to help 362,000 households improve the quantity and quality of their recycling
Together, nearly 100 Michigan communities, representing more than 1.1 million residents, are joinin[...]
Niagara Bottling Joins The Recycling Partnership
Niagara Bottling, a driving force in packaging innovation joins The Recycling Partnership to help the rapidly growing nonprofit transform recycling in states, cities and communities across the country. By supporting The Recycling Partnership’s recycling solutions, Niagara Bottling along with 38 [...]
Jill Martin
Homepage
Blog: Catalyzing System Change – Recycling Inclusion Fund
By Jessica Levine
A mentor once asked me, “What is your wildest dream?” I told her I wanted to be a catalyst for change.
I discovered my passion for environment and sustainability during my senior year of high school. Very quickly, I began to immerse myself in academic studies related to the fie[...]
How Sheboygan Successfully Transformed Its Recycling Program During a Pandemic
Despite the Challenges of the COVID-19 Health Crisis, Sheboygan Transitioned to a Cart-Based Recycling Program and Increased Its Recycling Tonnage Nearly 20%
Few can claim 2020 was their year – that is with at least one exception. Sheboygan, Wisconsin, which transformed its recycling program amid [...]
New, Free Tool Enables U.S. Companies to Set Ambitious Packaging Strategies to Reduce Plastic Waste
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,[...]
Milwaukee Area Recycling Facility Latest Recipient of Aluminum Beverage Can Capture Grant Program Funded by Ardagh Metal Packaging and Crown Holdings
Grant Enables Additional Can Capture Equipment that will Result in more than 27 Million More Aluminum Beverage Cans Recycled Annually
MILWAUKEE, WI (November 8, 2021) – Ardagh Metal Packaging and Crown Holdings funded a new aluminum can capture grant awarded to a recycling facility jointly owned b[...]
Careers at The Recycling Partnership
Small Town Access Fund Launches to Support Unique Recycling Challenges in Small and Rural Communities Across the U.S.
Fund provides grants to deliver new or improved access and education for the approximately 18,000 small and rural municipalities with populations of less than 50,000
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Sept. 20, 2022) – The Recycling Partnership recently marked the official launch of the Small Town Access Fund, a[...]
Effective Recycling Bin Labels Reduce Consumer Confusion About Recycling
When educating the public around what is and is not accepted for recycling, space and attention spans are limited. Evidence-based research shows which recycling bin labels are most effective at reducing confusion about recycling
The Recycling Partnership’s recently released Recycling Confidence [...]
Recycling in Atlanta: Increasing Access for Multifamily Housing Communities
A first-of-its-kind multifamily recycling initiative produced results in Atlanta, Georgia, providing a roadmap for communities across the United States and continued success in Georgia.
The Do You Recycle? Challenge, designed by The Recycling Partnership, city officials and stakeholders, focused o[...]
Bipartisan Support for Residential Recycling Drives System Change: Red + Blue = Green
The big “e’s” are on everyone’s minds – the economy, environment, and education. Local, state, and federal policymakers and civic leaders are charged with tackling these big topics to provide the best quality of life for their constituents. There are many approaches to these challenges; bu[...]
State Recycling Policy Playbook to Achieve Environmental and Economic Benefits
Have you read articles recently calling into question whether recycling really works? Spoiler alert – it does. It also turns out that with strong policy and sustainable funding it could work even better. There is indeed room for improvement, which could bring with it significant local economic d[...]
The Recycling Partnership Releases Strategy for Improving U.S. Recycling
On America Recycles Day the nation’s leading recycling NGO issues 5-Point Plan to give Americans a better recycling system.
Washington, D.C., Nov. 15, 2022 – The Recycling Partnership, a mission-driven NGO committed to advancing a circular economy by building a better recycling system, is a[...]
Impacting Behavior
About Us
The Recycling Partnership Launches Recycle Check, a New Dynamic Labeling Platform Delivering Clear, Local Recycling Information to U.S. Consumers
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[...]
Consumer Research on Recycling Behavior and Attitudes Regarding On-Pack Labeling
National research conducted by The Recycling Partnership in June 2021 explored recycling behavior and attitudes, measured the level of reliance that consumers placed on the recycling information they found on product labels, and how well they understood that information. The research included survey[...]
Public-Private Partnership with Kansas City, Missouri Will Improve Recycling Collection Citywide
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[...]
Critics are wrong about Connecticut’s recycling reform. Here’s the truth
This year, elected officials, community leaders, and advocates have thoughtfully considered extended producer responsibility legislation to enhance recycling in Connecticut. Known as EPR, the policy has churned a rousing debate around its merits and true impact.
As the conversation continues, [...]
Let’s Connect at the U.S. Conference of Mayors Annual Meeting
The Recycling Partnership has worked with hundreds of communities across the United States to bolster and improve local recycling systems through grants, technical assistance, and educational support.
From the recent launch of 162,000 carts in Kansas City, MO to past projects of 2,900 carts for e[...]
Sarasota County, Florida is awarded Recycling Program of the Year
During the August 2 Program of the Year Awards Winner Announcement Webinar, hosted by Resource Recycling, The Recycling Partnership was thrilled to join to co-host and announce Sarasota County, Florida as the recipient of the 2023 Recycling Program of the Year—Large Community.
Read on to learn mor[...]
Best Practices for Community Recycling Programs
Apurupa Gorthi
2024 State of Recycling Report
Fifth Round of MRF Grants Spur Modernization, Impacting Millions Nationwide
A critical component to creating a circular system, one where used packaging can be made into recycled material again and again, is a healthy and efficient materials recovery facility (MRF) system. The Recycling Partnership’s Paying It Forward report estimates the U.S. needs to invest $3 billion t[...]
The Power of Bringing People Together
This August, many of us at The Recycling Partnership were able to do something that hasn’t been done since 2019 – attend the Resource Recycling Conference (RRC) in person.
RRC is the only national event that is dedicated to enhancing municipal recycling and The Partnership is proud to have worke[...]
Plastic Packaging Strategy Tool
Recycling Confidence Index
Press Release: Orange County Recycling Quality Improvement Program Selected for Grant
This press release was initially published by Orange County Government Florida.
Partnership with National Organizations Will Help Recycling Education
Orange County, Fla. (March 12, 2019) – Today the Orange County Board of County Commissioners approved a grant agreement with The Recycling Partne[...]
National Database Provides Real-Time Comprehensive Source for U.S. Recycling Information
Digital tools will offer individuals, companies, and government access to localized recycling program details
FALLS CHURCH, Va. (March 2, 2022) – The Recycling Partnership announced today that it has developed a National Recycling Database, offering a comprehensive source for local recycling inf[...]
Op-ed: The Intersection of Profit and Purpose
The following op-ed was penned by Partnership CEO Keefe Harrison and published by The Philanthropy Journal on December 18, 2017. Read the original piece here.
While society has historically relied on government and nonprofits to create solutions for our largest challenges like hunger, social injusti[...]
The Recycling Partnership Teams Up With City of Chicago to Improve Recycling
This summer and through the fall, The Recycling Partnership, a national nonprofit that applies corporate partner funding to improve curbside recycling systems in cities and town across the country, will be working with Chicago’s Department of Streets and Sanitation (DSS) to improve recycling in th[...]
WWF Champions Sustainable Materials Management
This press release was originally published by the World Wildlife Fund on June 12, 2017.
World Wildlife Fund Convenes Organizations to Enable A Global Market For Sustainable Materials Management
World Wildlife Fund (WWF) today announced the Cascading Materials Vision, a platform that seeks to enabl[...]
Amazon, International Paper, and Starbucks Join The Recycling Partnership to Help Create a Sustainable Future
Amazon, International Paper, and Starbucks Coffee Company have joined on as new funding partners of The Recycling Partnership, a rapidly growing national nonprofit that leverages corporate investment to transform recycling for good in hundreds of communities across the country. By supporting The Re[...]
The Recycling Partnership & the PepsiCo Foundation Launch Largest-Ever Industry Challenge to Boost Residential Recycling for 25 Million U.S. Families
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[...]
Holding the Course: Domestic Reactions to Recycling Markets Spur Hope, Not Despair
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[...]
Start at the Cart
This article originally appeared in the March 2018 issue of Resource Recycling magazine.
by Cody Marshall and McKenna Morrigan
How do you get people to recycle more? What does it take to reduce contamination? How much more high-value recyclable material can be captured through curbside programs?
Now[...]
How to Use the GHG Calculator
by Tricia Tiedt
What are we wasting for? See how much greenhouse gas (GHG) equivalents you could be saving with our newest interactive online tool. By inputting your community’s households, collection data, and participation rate, the GHG Calculator estimates the tonnage of recyclables and related[...]
Elizabeth Schussler
Can Recycling Bounce Back?
This article originally appeared on CityLab.com.
NICOLE JAVORSKY
Times have been hard for U.S. recycling since China tightened its contamination standards, and local programs are trying to adjust.
“This facility is our version of Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.”
That’s how Eileen Ka[...]
The 2017 Costs of Contamination MRF Working Group Survey
In mid-2017, The Recycling Partnership surveyed its MRF Working Group to identify top contaminants and their impact at the Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) level. In gathering data using a matrix [Appendix 1], the surveyed group members provided detail on Labor; Facility Down Time; Disposal; Equipm[...]
America’s Leading Beverage Companies Unite To Reduce New Plastic Use & Increase Collection Of Their Valuable Bottles Through “Every Bottle Back” Initiative
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, [...]
Survey: Americans Prefer Sustainable Companies
Recycling Facilities in North Carolina and Texas Are Initial Recipients of Can Manufacturers Institute’s Aluminum Beverage Can Capture Grant Program
Two Grants for Additional Can Capture Equipment Have Potential to Capture Per Year More than 36 Million Aluminum Beverage Cans, Typically Most Valuable Material in the Recycling System
WASHINGTON, DC (April 13, 2021) – Recycling facilities in North Carolina and Texas will use Can Manufacturers Ins[...]
Polypropylene Recycling Coalition
Funding Partners – 2
Blog: A Corporate Perspective Turned Inside Out
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[...]
Texas Recycling Facility Fifth Recipient of Aluminum Beverage Can Capture Grant Program Funded by Ardagh Metal Packaging and Crown Holdings
Grant Awarded by The Recycling Partnership in Partnership with Can Manufacturers Institute Enables Can Capture Equipment that will Result in 4 Million More Aluminum Beverage Cans Recycled Annually
WASHINGTON, DC (December 14, 2021) – A recycling facility in Kilgore, TX, received a critical upgrade[...]
Written Submission to the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment and Climate Change
Statement for the Record
House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment and Climate Change
June 30, 2022
Keefe Harrison, CEO, The Recycling Partnership
Thank you for the opportunity to submit a statement into the hearing record for the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environm[...]
Jordan Tony
Lindsay Carbonell
Small Town Residential Recycling Improvements Aid Big Changes for Environment
What do piles of bulky waste in residential Ohio, the shore towns in Atlantic County, New Jersey, and billboards in Indiana have in common? They’re all part of The Recycling Partnership’s work to enhance recycling in small and rural communities across the United States.
Recycling should be possi[...]
The Truth on Recycling
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[...]
Seven Top Sustainability Leaders Join The Recycling Partnership’s Board of Directors
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[...]
Calling for Global Environmental System Change: Why We Support the UN’s Global Plastic Treaty
By: Rachel Kipar, Manager of Circular Ventures at The Recycling Partnership
To turn the dream of a healthy, vibrant planet into reality, the time for action is now. There is an enormous opportunity for system change with the United Nations’ groundbreaking international resolution calling for an en[...]
Polypropylene Curbside Recycling to Improve for Millions of Americans with Seven New Grants Awarded
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[...]
Ypsilanti Township Selected for Recycling Investment Through Beverage Industry’s Every Bottle Back Initiative
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[...]
5 FREE Residential Recycling Tools & Resources to Download Right Now
Reduce, reuse, recycle. It’s a mantra that bears repeating and quite frankly there’s no time to waste.
As we approach America Recycles Day in November, let’s focus on that word “recycle.” There are many feelings and phrases associated with recycling. It makes me feel good when I recycle;[...]
Dr. Elesia Glover
Mayor Brown Launches “Let’s Do This Together!”
BUFFALO – Today, Mayor Byron W. Brown announced that the City of Buffalo, in partnership with The Recycling Partnership, will sponsor a Multi-Unit Apartment Building Recycling Initiative called “Let’s Do This Together!”. The six-month pilot initiative aims to initially increase recycling col[...]
Adam Gendell
Marissa Ambrosi
BLOG: Key Takeaways from Public Comments on our Pathway to Circularity Recyclability Framework and What’s Coming Next
What did we learn from the feedback we received?
As a mission-driven organization focused on both system change and partnership, there isn’t much we enjoy more than a good bit of stakeholder feedback. So, when we launched the 30-day public comment period for the Pathway to Circularity’s Rec[...]
Recycling Facility in Florida Latest Recipient of Aluminum Beverage Can Capture Grant Program Funded by Ardagh Metal Packaging and Crown Holdings
Grant Enables Additional Can Capture Equipment That Will Result in 3.5 Million More Aluminum Beverage Cans Recycled
WASHINGTON, DC (August 18, 2021) – Ardagh Metal Packaging and Crown Holdings funded a new aluminum can capture grant awarded to a recycling facility northeast of Orlando that will in[...]
News Release: $4.2M in Grants Awarded to Improve Polypropylene Curbside Recycling for Nearly 15 Million Americans
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[...]
The Recycling Partnership Announces Results of Annual Board Election
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[...]
“Do You Recycle? Challenge” Launches in Atlanta to Increase Recycling Participation and Quality of Recyclables from Multifamily Properties
ATLANTA (July 13, 2021) – With close to 1,500 multifamily properties representing approximately 140,000 households, Atlanta is a prime location for a pilot Challenge to increase recycling participation and improve the quality of recyclables being diverted from landfills. The Do You Recycle? Challe[...]
Unique Public-Private Partnership to Modernize Baltimore’s Recycling Collection and Infrastructure
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[...]
How to Fix Recycling: A 5-Point Plan to Give Americans a Better Recycling System
City of Arvada Rolls out New Waste & Recycling Program
The City will begin rolling out new recycling carts for residents between June 7 and June 26 as it officially launches its residential waste and recycling collection service in early July 2021. The City of Arvada’s Waste and Recycling Program provides low cost recycling to residents who are partic[...]
DeNeile Cooper
Louisville Awarded Grants to Expand Equitable Recycling Access to 28,000 Households Across Urban Services District
The Recycling Partnership brings together the Southeast Recycling Development Council, the Kentucky and American Beverage Associations and Love Beauty Planet to award more than $1 million for large-capacity recycling carts this summer
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (May 25, 2021) – The Recycling Partnership alon[...]
EPR Resource Toolkit
Homepage
Kevin Goolsby
How can we create more equitable recycling outreach?
According to the latest U.S. Census data, we are becoming more racially and ethnically diverse as a nation. In turn, this means that our recycling outreach programs need to become more inclusive and accessible as well.
At the 2023 Resource Recycling Conference in Orlando, Florida, we introduced [...]
Paying It Forward Report
Natalie Kiyasu
Inglish Hills
Amanda Beckwith
Download the State of Recycling Report
Unlocking Recycling’s Potential: A Workshop on Behavior Change, Habits, and Equity
The Recycling Partnership’s Center for Sustainable Behavior & Impact hosted “Unlocking Recycling’s Potential: A Workshop on Behavior Change, Habits, and Equity,” an engaging event dedicated to recycling program managers. We focused on imparting evidence-based best practices that are cr[...]
Assess the Recyclability of Your Packaging with the New Circular Packaging Assessment Tool
The newly available digital Circular Packaging Assessment Tool (CPA Tool) allows brands and retailers to evaluate the recyclability of their packaging portfolio, especially as state EPR policies begin to be implemented across the U.S.
The new digital version of the CPA Tool:
features dynamic as[...]
Drop-off Recycling Program Grant
Through The Recycling Partnership’s Residential Drop-Off Recycling Grant Program, communities are provided grant funding, technical assistance, as well as the design of education and outreach materials to help advance recycling and improve drop-off recycling access and capacity for U.S. residents.[...]
Jensen Emerline
Small-Town America’s Part in Boosting U.S. Recycling Rates
At The Recycling Partnership, we believe recycling should be possible for all communities, no matter the size or geographic location. And we know it will take all of us—including small-town and rural America—to truly transform the U.S. recycling system and activate a circular economy. However, a[...]
Film and Flexibles Packaging: The Path Forward
Recycling is unique. It is a complex, interwoven system where all parts of the value chain need to work for recycling to work. Each piece of the equation is important and cannot be overlooked.
When evaluating the recyclability and ultimately circularity of various packaging, it is important to ack[...]
Download the Knowledge Report
Mari Long
World Environment Day Demands Action for Our Planet
World Environment Day turns 50 this year. It’s an annual moment in time to raise awareness, get loud, and demand action for our planet. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) spearheads these efforts, encouraging and fostering a forum to do more together.
Follow 2023’s theme, and [...]
Earth Day 2023: A Call to Invest In Our Planet
Investing in Our Planet Takes All of Us. On Earth Day and Every Day, We Can Start by Building a Better Recycling System.
Earth Day’s 2023 theme – Invest In Our Planet is centered around engaging more than 1 billion people, all levels of government, organizations and companies that participate in[...]
The Recycling Partnership Calls on Federal Trade Commission to Create Rigorous, Data-Driven Approach to Determine Recyclability
Comments underline need for accurate, transparent recyclability claims on product labels
Washington, D.C. April 19, 2023 – In comments submitted to the Federal Trade Commission today on its Guides for the Use of Environmental Marketing Claims (“Green Guides”), The Recycling Partnership c[...]
Recycling Resources
Setting the Record Straight on EPR Policy
Blog Post By: Michael Washburn, Ph.D., Senior Policy Advisor
I’m used to wearing many hats in the recycling policy space. Recycler. Constituent. Policy wonk.
Let’s wear the third hat for a minute and focus on a policy that is making news. I’m referring to extended producer responsibility, [...]
Film and Flexibles Recycling Coalition Grant Advances Film Recovery
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[...]
New Report: Increasing Recycling Rates with EPR Policy
The Recycling Partnership Announces First Grants to Improve Capture of PET
Nashville Receives Investment to Support Increased Recycling Collection
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[...]
Additional MRF Modernization Grants Signal System Progress for Polypropylene
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.[...]
On-the-ground Engagement at the Upcoming Plastic Pollution Treaty INC-1
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[...]
Public and Private Investment Will Significantly Improve US Residential Recycling and Catalyze a Circular Economy, says New Report
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[...]
Rob Taylor
Gahanna and SWACO Team Up with The Recycling Partnership to Improve Curbside Recycling for Residents
Together They will Implement The Recycling Partnership’s Nationally Acclaimed “Feet on the Street” Cart-Tagging Recycling Education Campaign
Gahanna, OH (April 27, 2021) – The City of Gahanna has partnered with SWACO to bring The Recycling Partnership’s nationally acclaimed Feet on the Str[...]
Watch: “Recycling – Video Games”
Part of The Partnership’s “It’s All You” campaign for the City of Chicago, this video shows adults and kids alike how everyday recycling can make a big impact – like saving the world.
Coca-Cola promised to help fix recycling. Here’s how it plans to deliver
By Danielle Wiener-Bronner, CNN Business
Atlanta (CNN Business) – Early last year, Coca-Cola set an ambitious goal for itself: Collect and recycle the equivalent of every bottle or can it sells by 2030.
The company has committed to making its bottles and cans out of at least 50% recycled materi[...]
Press Release: Auburn awarded grant for single-stream recycling education, additional carts
This press release was originally published and distributed by Public Affairs out of the Office of the City Manager for the City of Auburn, AL.
AUBURN, Ala.- The rollout of the single-stream recycling program is complete, and the City of Auburn is moving on to the next step of the process, e[...]
Blog: There’s no time to be timid
Greetings from Abu Dhabi. As the 2019 World Ocean Summit wraps up, and I prepare to head home, I’ve settled on my mantra for the year:
There’s no time to be timid.
Warming waters. Acidification. Marine debris. The ocean is the pulse of our planet and it needs our help. We know that climate ch[...]
Jessica Levine
What Business Wants
This article originally appeared in The Chronicle of Philanthropy.
Companies want to be seen as doing good for their community and the world. Charities can help — and benefit.
By Megan O’Neil
Keefe Harrison aspired to a life as a field biologist. In her late teens and 20s, she tagged sea turtles[...]
Tackling Contamination – Say What You Want
By Elizabeth Schussler, Sr Dir Social Change, Behavior and Impact
Trying to fight contamination in your local recycling program? Ask specifically for what you want (or don’t want). Our research shows that much of contamination can be solved by telling residents exactly how to recycle properly. (Wa[...]
Terms of Use
The Coca-Cola Foundation Grants $1 Million to The Recycling Partnership to Help Prevent Marine Debris at the Curb
FALLS CHURCH, VA (June 4, 2018) – Marine debris is a global crisis for our waterways and oceans and an imminent concern for consumers, communities and industries. By 2050, it is estimated that there will be more marine debris than fish in our ocean and 80 percent of marine debris comes from land-b[...]
Lily Schwartz
ExxonMobil Joins The Recycling Partnership with $1.5 Million Commitment
Global leader ExxonMobil is the first energy company to join The Recycling Partnership, a rapidly growing national nonprofit that leverages corporate investment to transform recycling for good in hundreds of communities across the country. Through support and collaboration, ExxonMobil, along with 34[...]
Partnership Empowers Atlanta, Chicago, and Denver to Measurably Improve Recycling
Less than half the recyclables in U.S. homes are captured: just 14 million tons out of an available 36 million are recycled every year from single-family homes. The Recycling Partnership is working to change that by improving recycling systems in hundreds of communities across America with financi[...]
Download Our 2016 Annual Report
Our 2016 Annual Report highlights real-time benefits of the transformative organization’s work, focusing on year-on- year growth, systems solutions across the supply chain, and the multiplier effect that intelligently-deployed new infrastructure delivers.
“Day to day, we’re always looking fo[...]
Download and Share our Keep Recycling Paper Campaign Social Media Images
Choose from seven different impact ads to share on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram.
Op-ed: “Global Solutions, Local Scale”
Global Solutions, Local Scale: Recycling Efforts Show Promising Path for Climate Action
This op-ed written by Partnership CEO Keefe Harrison was originally published by CityFix on Aug. 10, 2017.
Now that cities can no longer rely on the U.S. federal government to take serious action on the global [...]
Hale: “You’re Not in it Alone, So Why Go it Alone?”
This article, written by The Recycling Partnership’s former VP of Communications and recycling legend Jason Hale, was originally published by Sustainable Brands.
A Circular Economy: You’re Not in It Alone, So Why Go It Alone?
This is the second in a three-part series from The Recycling [...]
Sonoco Partners With The Recycling Partnership
National nonprofit The Recycling Partnership proudly welcomes global packaging provider Sonoco as its newest funding partner. The two organizations are strongly aligned in their commitment to improving the world for people and communities through meaningful recovery of materials and reductions in gr[...]
Jason Hale: “How We’re Fixing a Broken System”
This article, written by The Recycling Partnership’s former VP of Communications and recycling legend Jason Hale, was originally published by Sustainable Brands.
The Recycling Partnership: How We’re Fixing a Broken System
This is the third in a three-part series from The Recycling Partn[...]
Massachusetts Tackles Contamination with Partnership
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 [...]
Heineken USA Blog: A Win For Recycling
This article originally appeared on Heineken USA’s blog on Aug. 2, 2017.
To the great people of Europe: thanks for sharing! Teams from the top soccer leagues in the world touched down in the U.S. this summer for the fifth installment of the International Champions Cup and the competition was[...]
Companies Try Boosting Demand for Recycled Plastics
This article was originally published by Bloomberg on Nov. 29, 2017.
The economics of plastic recycling have suddenly been upended, thanks to a Chinese import ban and cheap U.S. oil used to make virgin plastic. That’s made recycled plastic suddenly more expensive than virgin plastic and made it mo[...]
Resource Recycling Op-ed: Where it’s At
The following op-ed was penned by The Recycling Partnership’s VP of Industry Collaboration Dylan de Thomas and was originally published by Resource Recycling. Read the original article here.
For a long time, the story of recycling has been purported to be simple – you just have to do X and i[...]
Waste360: Corporations to Revitalize Plastics Market
The Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR) has a new plan to increase demand for recyclable plastics in North America, and with help from The Recycling Partnership, it is calling upon manufacturers and retailers to make it work. Companies joining the Recycle Demand Champions initiativewill instruct[...]
Erinn Richardson
Chris Coady
Keep Recycling Paper
Article: “All the ways recycling is broken—and how to fix them”
This article was originally published by Fast Company on April 4, 2019. To read the original, click here.
[Photo: Recycling Partnership]
A nonprofit called the Recycling Partnership gives cities grants for supplies like recycling bins along with consulting to help expand recycling, funded by [...]
City of Houston’s Solid Waste Management Department Launches a Pilot Education Campaign to Improve Curbside Residential Recycling
Houston, TX. (April 28, 2021) – The City of Houston is launching a curbside recycling cart-tagging pilot program modeled on The Recycling Partnership’s successful Feet on the Street campaign. The cart tagging initiative is aimed at improving the quality and quantity of recyclable materials colle[...]
Tips for Working Remotely – Our Team Members’ Tips, Hacks & Tricks
If you’re one of the many Americans who have recently found themselves working from home, you may be finding some difficulty adjusting to the new norm of social distancing from your in-home or makeshift office.
With employees across more than 14 states, The Recycling Partnership is accustomed to r[...]
First-Ever Can Capture RFP Announced for MRFs in Southeastern U.S.
The Recycling Partnership Joins CMI as Grant Program Partner to Evaluate Proposals and Provide Technical Assistance for Projects that Target Missorted or Lost Cans at Recycling Centers in the Southeast
FALLS CHURCH, Va (JAN. 26, 2021) – The Can Manufacturers Institute (CMI) and The Recycling P[...]
Facebook and The Recycling Partnership Launch Free Digital Tool, Online Community to Boost Easier, Improved Household Recycling
FALLS CHURCH, Va. (March 18, 2021) —Today, in honor of Global Recycling Day, The Recycling Partnership has launched Communities for Recycling, an innovative national initiative to provide Americans with real-time, personalized, and hyper-local recycling information through Facebook’s Messenger e[...]
Elise Vogler
Blog: Start at the Cart™: Key Concepts for Influencing Behavior
Recycling is many things. It is both a noun and a verb. To a waste professional it may be the collection and diversion of tons of marketable materials. To community members, recycling is an easy way to waste less and to contribute to the greater good. When asked about recyclables, however, most mist[...]
Blog: The EPA Needs to Take Action Now on Recycling
By Dylan de Thomas
Vice President of External Affairs
The Recycling Partnership
For many Americans, recycling is second nature. It’s something that we can’t imagine living without. The ethos of “waste not, want not” runs deep in our collective conscience. We feel bad when we throw something [...]
Press Release: Central Ohio Selected for Investment to Boost Curbside Recycling
America’s leading beverage companies join the Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio and The Recycling Partnership to deploy convenient recycling carts in Pleasant Township and Whitehall
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The American Beverage Association (ABA), in partnership with The Recycling Partnership and [...]
Press Release: The Recycling Partnership Announces First Grants to Improve Polypropylene Curbside Recycling for Millions of Americans
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[...]
BLOG: What Helps People Better Understand Recycling Instructions?
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[...]
Press Release: 10 U.S. Cities Representing 1.3 Million Households Receive Grants, Expected to Dramatically Expand, Increase Capture of Quality Recyclables
$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[...]
Press Release: U.S. Plastics Pact Launches to Ignite Change Toward Circular Economy for Plastic
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[...]
Webinar: A COVID-19 Industry Update from The Recycling Partnership
On Wednesday, May 27, The Recycling Partnership hosted a follow-up webinar with industry experts to answer the important question: What are on-the-ground impacts of the COVID-19 health crisis on recycling operations and workers? The supply chain and solid waste have both been deemed essential work i[...]
Ali Blandina
Residential Curbside Recycling Cart Grant
Residential Curbside Recycling Cart Grant
Through The Recycling Partnership’s Residential Curbside Recycling Cart Grant, communities are provided grant funding, technical assistance, as well as the design of education and outreach materials to help advance recycling and improve recycling access [...]
EGLE and National Nonprofit The Recycling Partnership Award More than $2M in Record-Setting Grants to Support Largest Expansion of Recycling in History of Detroit, Additional MI Communities
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[...]
Heath Nettles
Press Release: Newark Awarded Grant from The Recycling Partnership Through the Coca-cola Foundation for Education Campaign
For Immediate Release
City is receiving $140,000 recycling grant to raise awareness of what can and cannot be recycled and how to recycle;
Newark one of seven cities across nation to receive recycling grant
Newark, NJ—September 25, 2019—Mayor Ras J. Baraka, Public Works Director Khalif Thomas, T[...]
Core Values
Sarasota Coasts in for a Recycling Win: Education + Carts = High Participation, More Material and Less Contamination
SARASOTA, FLA.—Participation and collection volumes are up, and contamination is notably low in Sarasota following a city-led recycling program reboot this spring that included amped-up education and new, 95-gallon single-stream carts, supported by the national non-profit, The Recycling Partnershi[...]
50 Cities Leadership Summit
Press Release: Denver Awarded Grant from The Recycling Partnership and The Coca-Cola Foundation for Recycling Education Campaign
Aims to Reach More People to Help Increase Recycling Rate from 23% to 34%
DENVER – Mayor Michael B. Hancock, The Coca-Cola Foundation and national non-profit group The Recycling Partnership announced today the launch of a new large-scale recycling education campaign that will be piloted this summe[...]
Press Release: Target, Keurig Dr. Pepper, and Association of Plastic Recyclers join The Recycling Partnership Executive Committee
FALLS CHURCH, VA (May 14, 2019) – The Recycling Partnership today announced the appointment of a new chairwoman and two new members to its Executive Committee, as well as new committee chairs for its board governance, communications, and public affairs committees for 2019.
Kim Carswell, dir[...]
Get the tool you need to know your curbside recycling program is performing well! Ask about the MMP today.
Hey, municipal recycling coordinator! How do you know if your curbside recycling program is performing well? Do you know how to connect to powerful easy-to-use tools to increase your performance and address complicated issues like contamination? Do you have the ability to compare your multifamily,[...]
Blog: Our future depends on our actions. So, what are we wasting for?
By The Recycling Partnership Team
We live on a planet that is well known for having finite resources (and yes, some renewable ones, many of which we’re depleting at a rate that surpasses the rate of replacement). If we keep buying things that are made out of these finite and depleting resources,[...]
Press Release: Alcoa Foundation increases support of The Partnership through All In On Recycling Challenge
Foundation’s $300,000 grant will boost recycling across the country
Falls Church, VA (April 24, 2019) – Alcoa Foundation announced today it is contributing $300,000 to The Recycling Partnership, the nonprofit change agent transforming recycling for good. The donation will help boost residentia[...]
Eric DesRoberts
Center for Sustainable Behavior & Impact to Drive Improvement in Recycling Behavior and Boost Confidence in U.S. Recycling
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[...]
Regional Recycling Impact Workshop
The Recycling Partnership and NERC present the 2019 Regional Recycling Impact Workshop
Harness the power of your program through tools for fighting contamination, education and outreach, and harmonizing your message to create a stronger recycling system throughout the 11-state region.
The North[...]
Polypropylene Recycling Coalition Reports Meaningful, Measurable Impact on Three-Year Anniversary
Reporting Grantees Show Ninefold Increase in Polypropylene Capture
WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 29, 2023) – The Recycling Partnership (“The Partnership”) today reported on the progress of the Polypropylene Recycling Coalition (“Coalition”) and provided insights into the changing landscape of p[...]
Three Years of Meaningful, Measurable Impact: How The Polypropylene Coalition Is Driving Progress in Recycling for #5 Plastic
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[...]
The Recycling Partnership’s Position on Chemical Recycling: Marketplace Evolution Must Support People and the Planet
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[...]
The Recycling Partnership Reports Impact to Date on Aluminum Recycling
Recycling Initiative Drives Capture of 4.1 Million New Pounds of Aluminum Annually
WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 4, 2023) – The Recycling Partnership reported today on the impact of its Aluminum Recycling Initiative (Initiative). Under the Initiative five grants have been issued for the continued a[...]
Partnership Powers Progress: June Impact Report 2019
Check out our June 2019 Impact Report and learn about the $73 million in value we have delivered to transform recycling for good.
See how we are working together with communities, our funding partners, and the industry to drive change coast to coast and create a stronger economy, healthier p[...]
The Recycling Partnership Surpasses $240 Million in Environmental and Economic Value Creation
Since 2014 the nation’s leading recycling nonprofit has reached over 100 million households diverting 770 million incremental pounds of recyclables from landfills
WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 15, 2022) – The Recycling Partnership has released its Impact Report 2022: Complex Problems Require [...]
By the Numbers Webinar Recording: A Deep Dive into the State of Recycling Report
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 Launches the Recycling Program Solutions Hub for Local Recycling Staff and Leaders
A new free resource to advance recycling data, knowledge, and connectivity
WASHINGTON, D.C. Oct. 17, 2023 – Today The Recycling Partnership (“The Partnership”) is launching the Recycling Program Solutions Hub (Hub) nationwide, an interactive tool and resource designed for local recycling staff[...]
Incorporating Motivational Messaging for Recycling Education and Outreach Webinar Recording
The right messaging, targeted to the appropriate audience(s), can make all the difference in helping people to properly recycle every chance they get. That’s what we cover in this webinar recording: Incorporating Motivational Messaging for Recycling Education and Outreach.
What You Will Learn
[...]
The Recycling Partnership is Transforming for Good
2020 Impact Report Tells Story of the National Nonprofit Catalyzing Change to Move the U.S. Toward a Circular Economy
Report Shows Only 21% of U.S. Residential Recyclables are Captured, Points to Policy and Investment as Immediate Solutions
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[...]
Incorporating Motivational Messaging for Recycling Education and Outreach Webinar on September 27
Please join The Recycling Partnership for the Incorporating Motivational Messaging for Recycling Education and Outreach Webinar on September 27, 2023, at 1 pm ET.
The right messaging, targeted to the appropriate audience(s), can make all the difference in helping people to properly recycle every [...]
Blog: Improving Recycling in Minnesota
Multifamily Recycling Success: How Minnesota Is Making a Difference
From college dorms to apartment buildings, multifamily properties often pose unique challenges when it comes to recycling efforts. But four Minnesota communities are proving that education and outreach can have a significant impact [...]
Behavior Change is at the Heart of Everything We Do
By: Elizabeth Schussler, Senior Director of Social Change, Behavior, and Impact
At The Recycling Partnership, behavior change is at the heart of everything we do because people and the planet are at our core. A focus on recycling behavior and the impacts of behavior are ingrained in our DNA and our[...]
By The Numbers Webinar: Unpacking the Data Behind Plastics Recycling
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[...]
Study of Extended Producer Responsibility Policy Across 7 Jurisdictions Worldwide Shows it Dramatically Increases Recycling Rates
The Recycling Partnership analysis shows that U.S. states could expect an increase in recycling rates with the introduction of EPR law
WASHINGTON, D.C. Feb. 2, 2023 – States can expect significant increases in recycling rates for packaging (including plastic, glass, aluminum and steel) and printe[...]
$1.2 Million in Grants Awarded to Spur Advancement of Polypropylene Recycling
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 Celebrates “Widely Recyclable” Upgrade
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[...]
Recycling Behavior Change Insights Question and Answer Webinar on November 29
During the Motivational Messaging and In-Home Recycling webinars, you had questions. And there just wasn’t enough time to answer them so we brought back our speakers for a special Q&A Follow Up Webinar. We answered questions about how to unlock the secrets of effective recycling messagin[...]
Research and Insights into Recycling Behavior Inside the Home Webinar
Recycling is a complex reverse supply chain that begins in the household, but there is limited visibility into what actually happens in the home behind closed doors. While we know approximately half of all household recyclables never make it to a materials recycling facility, nobody knows exactly wh[...]
Research and Insights into Recycling Behavior Inside the Home Webinar on October 25
Want to unlock the recycling potential of your community? Tune into our webinar on October 25, 2023, at 1 pm ET.
Recycling is a complex reverse supply chain that begins in the household, but there is limited visibility into what actually happens in the home behind closed doors. While we know approxi[...]
How to Address the Intention-Action Gap in Recycling
The Recycling Partnership’s Center for Sustainable Behavior & Impact’s new Knowledge Report presents four themes for accelerating recycling best practices
Recycling is a complex, reverse supply chain—and its success depends on the small, everyday actions of hundreds of millions of people. [...]
By The Numbers Webinar: Transforming U.S. Recycling with EPR
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[...]
The Time to Act is Now: New Yorkers Need Leadership from State Legislators to Increase Recycling, Reduce Landfilling, and fight Climate Change
National and State Not-for-Profit and Non-Governmental Organizations Join Together to Say Pass Extended Producer Responsibility Legislation in 2022 and Take the Burden off Taxpayers and Communities
ALBANY, NY (May 9, 2022) – The New York State legislature has three weeks left this session to remov[...]
Press Release: The Partnership and TDEC, with Love Beauty and Planet, Help Expand Curbside Recycling Collection in Nashville
The Recycling Partnership and Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, with Love Beauty and Planet, Help Expand Curbside Recycling Collection in Nashville
Collection to go from once a month to every other week by early 2020
A combined $2.8 million grant from The Recycling Partnership a[...]
Nearly 100 Michigan Communities Collaborate with State, National Partners to Dramatically Improve the Capture of Valuable Recyclables
Michigan EGLE and The Recycling Partnership have awarded nearly $791,000 in grant funding that will impact 98 communities to help 362,000 households improve the quantity and quality of their recycling
Together, nearly 100 Michigan communities, representing more than 1.1 million residents, are joinin[...]
Niagara Bottling Joins The Recycling Partnership
Niagara Bottling, a driving force in packaging innovation joins The Recycling Partnership to help the rapidly growing nonprofit transform recycling in states, cities and communities across the country. By supporting The Recycling Partnership’s recycling solutions, Niagara Bottling along with 38 [...]
New, Free Tool Enables U.S. Companies to Set Ambitious Packaging Strategies to Reduce Plastic Waste
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,[...]
Milwaukee Area Recycling Facility Latest Recipient of Aluminum Beverage Can Capture Grant Program Funded by Ardagh Metal Packaging and Crown Holdings
Grant Enables Additional Can Capture Equipment that will Result in more than 27 Million More Aluminum Beverage Cans Recycled Annually
MILWAUKEE, WI (November 8, 2021) – Ardagh Metal Packaging and Crown Holdings funded a new aluminum can capture grant awarded to a recycling facility jointly owned b[...]
Small Town Access Fund Launches to Support Unique Recycling Challenges in Small and Rural Communities Across the U.S.
Fund provides grants to deliver new or improved access and education for the approximately 18,000 small and rural municipalities with populations of less than 50,000
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Sept. 20, 2022) – The Recycling Partnership recently marked the official launch of the Small Town Access Fund, a[...]
Bipartisan Support for Residential Recycling Drives System Change: Red + Blue = Green
The big “e’s” are on everyone’s minds – the economy, environment, and education. Local, state, and federal policymakers and civic leaders are charged with tackling these big topics to provide the best quality of life for their constituents. There are many approaches to these challenges; bu[...]
The Recycling Partnership Releases Strategy for Improving U.S. Recycling
On America Recycles Day the nation’s leading recycling NGO issues 5-Point Plan to give Americans a better recycling system.
Washington, D.C., Nov. 15, 2022 – The Recycling Partnership, a mission-driven NGO committed to advancing a circular economy by building a better recycling system, is a[...]
The Recycling Partnership Launches Recycle Check, a New Dynamic Labeling Platform Delivering Clear, Local Recycling Information to U.S. Consumers
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[...]
Public-Private Partnership with Kansas City, Missouri Will Improve Recycling Collection Citywide
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[...]
Let’s Connect at the U.S. Conference of Mayors Annual Meeting
The Recycling Partnership has worked with hundreds of communities across the United States to bolster and improve local recycling systems through grants, technical assistance, and educational support.
From the recent launch of 162,000 carts in Kansas City, MO to past projects of 2,900 carts for e[...]
Fifth Round of MRF Grants Spur Modernization, Impacting Millions Nationwide
A critical component to creating a circular system, one where used packaging can be made into recycled material again and again, is a healthy and efficient materials recovery facility (MRF) system. The Recycling Partnership’s Paying It Forward report estimates the U.S. needs to invest $3 billion t[...]
Press Release: Orange County Recycling Quality Improvement Program Selected for Grant
This press release was initially published by Orange County Government Florida.
Partnership with National Organizations Will Help Recycling Education
Orange County, Fla. (March 12, 2019) – Today the Orange County Board of County Commissioners approved a grant agreement with The Recycling Partne[...]
National Database Provides Real-Time Comprehensive Source for U.S. Recycling Information
Digital tools will offer individuals, companies, and government access to localized recycling program details
FALLS CHURCH, Va. (March 2, 2022) – The Recycling Partnership announced today that it has developed a National Recycling Database, offering a comprehensive source for local recycling inf[...]
Op-ed: The Intersection of Profit and Purpose
The following op-ed was penned by Partnership CEO Keefe Harrison and published by The Philanthropy Journal on December 18, 2017. Read the original piece here.
While society has historically relied on government and nonprofits to create solutions for our largest challenges like hunger, social injusti[...]
The Recycling Partnership Teams Up With City of Chicago to Improve Recycling
This summer and through the fall, The Recycling Partnership, a national nonprofit that applies corporate partner funding to improve curbside recycling systems in cities and town across the country, will be working with Chicago’s Department of Streets and Sanitation (DSS) to improve recycling in th[...]
WWF Champions Sustainable Materials Management
This press release was originally published by the World Wildlife Fund on June 12, 2017.
World Wildlife Fund Convenes Organizations to Enable A Global Market For Sustainable Materials Management
World Wildlife Fund (WWF) today announced the Cascading Materials Vision, a platform that seeks to enabl[...]
Amazon, International Paper, and Starbucks Join The Recycling Partnership to Help Create a Sustainable Future
Amazon, International Paper, and Starbucks Coffee Company have joined on as new funding partners of The Recycling Partnership, a rapidly growing national nonprofit that leverages corporate investment to transform recycling for good in hundreds of communities across the country. By supporting The Re[...]
The Recycling Partnership & the PepsiCo Foundation Launch Largest-Ever Industry Challenge to Boost Residential Recycling for 25 Million U.S. Families
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[...]
Start at the Cart
This article originally appeared in the March 2018 issue of Resource Recycling magazine.
by Cody Marshall and McKenna Morrigan
How do you get people to recycle more? What does it take to reduce contamination? How much more high-value recyclable material can be captured through curbside programs?
Now[...]
Can Recycling Bounce Back?
This article originally appeared on CityLab.com.
NICOLE JAVORSKY
Times have been hard for U.S. recycling since China tightened its contamination standards, and local programs are trying to adjust.
“This facility is our version of Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.”
That’s how Eileen Ka[...]
The 2017 Costs of Contamination MRF Working Group Survey
In mid-2017, The Recycling Partnership surveyed its MRF Working Group to identify top contaminants and their impact at the Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) level. In gathering data using a matrix [Appendix 1], the surveyed group members provided detail on Labor; Facility Down Time; Disposal; Equipm[...]
America’s Leading Beverage Companies Unite To Reduce New Plastic Use & Increase Collection Of Their Valuable Bottles Through “Every Bottle Back” Initiative
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, [...]
Survey: Americans Prefer Sustainable Companies
Recycling Facilities in North Carolina and Texas Are Initial Recipients of Can Manufacturers Institute’s Aluminum Beverage Can Capture Grant Program
Two Grants for Additional Can Capture Equipment Have Potential to Capture Per Year More than 36 Million Aluminum Beverage Cans, Typically Most Valuable Material in the Recycling System
WASHINGTON, DC (April 13, 2021) – Recycling facilities in North Carolina and Texas will use Can Manufacturers Ins[...]
Texas Recycling Facility Fifth Recipient of Aluminum Beverage Can Capture Grant Program Funded by Ardagh Metal Packaging and Crown Holdings
Grant Awarded by The Recycling Partnership in Partnership with Can Manufacturers Institute Enables Can Capture Equipment that will Result in 4 Million More Aluminum Beverage Cans Recycled Annually
WASHINGTON, DC (December 14, 2021) – A recycling facility in Kilgore, TX, received a critical upgrade[...]
Written Submission to the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment and Climate Change
Statement for the Record
House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment and Climate Change
June 30, 2022
Keefe Harrison, CEO, The Recycling Partnership
Thank you for the opportunity to submit a statement into the hearing record for the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environm[...]
Seven Top Sustainability Leaders Join The Recycling Partnership’s Board of Directors
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[...]
Polypropylene Curbside Recycling to Improve for Millions of Americans with Seven New Grants Awarded
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[...]
Ypsilanti Township Selected for Recycling Investment Through Beverage Industry’s Every Bottle Back Initiative
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[...]
Mayor Brown Launches “Let’s Do This Together!”
BUFFALO – Today, Mayor Byron W. Brown announced that the City of Buffalo, in partnership with The Recycling Partnership, will sponsor a Multi-Unit Apartment Building Recycling Initiative called “Let’s Do This Together!”. The six-month pilot initiative aims to initially increase recycling col[...]
Recycling Facility in Florida Latest Recipient of Aluminum Beverage Can Capture Grant Program Funded by Ardagh Metal Packaging and Crown Holdings
Grant Enables Additional Can Capture Equipment That Will Result in 3.5 Million More Aluminum Beverage Cans Recycled
WASHINGTON, DC (August 18, 2021) – Ardagh Metal Packaging and Crown Holdings funded a new aluminum can capture grant awarded to a recycling facility northeast of Orlando that will in[...]
News Release: $4.2M in Grants Awarded to Improve Polypropylene Curbside Recycling for Nearly 15 Million Americans
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[...]
The Recycling Partnership Announces Results of Annual Board Election
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[...]
“Do You Recycle? Challenge” Launches in Atlanta to Increase Recycling Participation and Quality of Recyclables from Multifamily Properties
ATLANTA (July 13, 2021) – With close to 1,500 multifamily properties representing approximately 140,000 households, Atlanta is a prime location for a pilot Challenge to increase recycling participation and improve the quality of recyclables being diverted from landfills. The Do You Recycle? Challe[...]
Unique Public-Private Partnership to Modernize Baltimore’s Recycling Collection and Infrastructure
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[...]
City of Arvada Rolls out New Waste & Recycling Program
The City will begin rolling out new recycling carts for residents between June 7 and June 26 as it officially launches its residential waste and recycling collection service in early July 2021. The City of Arvada’s Waste and Recycling Program provides low cost recycling to residents who are partic[...]
Louisville Awarded Grants to Expand Equitable Recycling Access to 28,000 Households Across Urban Services District
The Recycling Partnership brings together the Southeast Recycling Development Council, the Kentucky and American Beverage Associations and Love Beauty Planet to award more than $1 million for large-capacity recycling carts this summer
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (May 25, 2021) – The Recycling Partnership alon[...]
Unlocking Recycling’s Potential: A Workshop on Behavior Change, Habits, and Equity
The Recycling Partnership’s Center for Sustainable Behavior & Impact hosted “Unlocking Recycling’s Potential: A Workshop on Behavior Change, Habits, and Equity,” an engaging event dedicated to recycling program managers. We focused on imparting evidence-based best practices that are cr[...]
Assess the Recyclability of Your Packaging with the New Circular Packaging Assessment Tool
The newly available digital Circular Packaging Assessment Tool (CPA Tool) allows brands and retailers to evaluate the recyclability of their packaging portfolio, especially as state EPR policies begin to be implemented across the U.S.
The new digital version of the CPA Tool:
features dynamic as[...]
Drop-off Recycling Program Grant
Through The Recycling Partnership’s Residential Drop-Off Recycling Grant Program, communities are provided grant funding, technical assistance, as well as the design of education and outreach materials to help advance recycling and improve drop-off recycling access and capacity for U.S. residents.[...]
World Environment Day Demands Action for Our Planet
World Environment Day turns 50 this year. It’s an annual moment in time to raise awareness, get loud, and demand action for our planet. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) spearheads these efforts, encouraging and fostering a forum to do more together.
Follow 2023’s theme, and [...]
The Recycling Partnership Calls on Federal Trade Commission to Create Rigorous, Data-Driven Approach to Determine Recyclability
Comments underline need for accurate, transparent recyclability claims on product labels
Washington, D.C. April 19, 2023 – In comments submitted to the Federal Trade Commission today on its Guides for the Use of Environmental Marketing Claims (“Green Guides”), The Recycling Partnership c[...]
The Recycling Partnership Announces First Grants to Improve Capture of PET
Nashville Receives Investment to Support Increased Recycling Collection
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[...]
Public and Private Investment Will Significantly Improve US Residential Recycling and Catalyze a Circular Economy, says New Report
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[...]
Gahanna and SWACO Team Up with The Recycling Partnership to Improve Curbside Recycling for Residents
Together They will Implement The Recycling Partnership’s Nationally Acclaimed “Feet on the Street” Cart-Tagging Recycling Education Campaign
Gahanna, OH (April 27, 2021) – The City of Gahanna has partnered with SWACO to bring The Recycling Partnership’s nationally acclaimed Feet on the Str[...]
Watch: “Recycling – Video Games”
Part of The Partnership’s “It’s All You” campaign for the City of Chicago, this video shows adults and kids alike how everyday recycling can make a big impact – like saving the world.
Coca-Cola promised to help fix recycling. Here’s how it plans to deliver
By Danielle Wiener-Bronner, CNN Business
Atlanta (CNN Business) – Early last year, Coca-Cola set an ambitious goal for itself: Collect and recycle the equivalent of every bottle or can it sells by 2030.
The company has committed to making its bottles and cans out of at least 50% recycled materi[...]
Press Release: Auburn awarded grant for single-stream recycling education, additional carts
This press release was originally published and distributed by Public Affairs out of the Office of the City Manager for the City of Auburn, AL.
AUBURN, Ala.- The rollout of the single-stream recycling program is complete, and the City of Auburn is moving on to the next step of the process, e[...]
What Business Wants
This article originally appeared in The Chronicle of Philanthropy.
Companies want to be seen as doing good for their community and the world. Charities can help — and benefit.
By Megan O’Neil
Keefe Harrison aspired to a life as a field biologist. In her late teens and 20s, she tagged sea turtles[...]
The Coca-Cola Foundation Grants $1 Million to The Recycling Partnership to Help Prevent Marine Debris at the Curb
FALLS CHURCH, VA (June 4, 2018) – Marine debris is a global crisis for our waterways and oceans and an imminent concern for consumers, communities and industries. By 2050, it is estimated that there will be more marine debris than fish in our ocean and 80 percent of marine debris comes from land-b[...]
ExxonMobil Joins The Recycling Partnership with $1.5 Million Commitment
Global leader ExxonMobil is the first energy company to join The Recycling Partnership, a rapidly growing national nonprofit that leverages corporate investment to transform recycling for good in hundreds of communities across the country. Through support and collaboration, ExxonMobil, along with 34[...]
Download Our 2016 Annual Report
Our 2016 Annual Report highlights real-time benefits of the transformative organization’s work, focusing on year-on- year growth, systems solutions across the supply chain, and the multiplier effect that intelligently-deployed new infrastructure delivers.
“Day to day, we’re always looking fo[...]
Op-ed: “Global Solutions, Local Scale”
Global Solutions, Local Scale: Recycling Efforts Show Promising Path for Climate Action
This op-ed written by Partnership CEO Keefe Harrison was originally published by CityFix on Aug. 10, 2017.
Now that cities can no longer rely on the U.S. federal government to take serious action on the global [...]
Sonoco Partners With The Recycling Partnership
National nonprofit The Recycling Partnership proudly welcomes global packaging provider Sonoco as its newest funding partner. The two organizations are strongly aligned in their commitment to improving the world for people and communities through meaningful recovery of materials and reductions in gr[...]
Massachusetts Tackles Contamination with Partnership
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 [...]
Heineken USA Blog: A Win For Recycling
This article originally appeared on Heineken USA’s blog on Aug. 2, 2017.
To the great people of Europe: thanks for sharing! Teams from the top soccer leagues in the world touched down in the U.S. this summer for the fifth installment of the International Champions Cup and the competition was[...]
Resource Recycling Op-ed: Where it’s At
The following op-ed was penned by The Recycling Partnership’s VP of Industry Collaboration Dylan de Thomas and was originally published by Resource Recycling. Read the original article here.
For a long time, the story of recycling has been purported to be simple – you just have to do X and i[...]
Waste360: Corporations to Revitalize Plastics Market
The Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR) has a new plan to increase demand for recyclable plastics in North America, and with help from The Recycling Partnership, it is calling upon manufacturers and retailers to make it work. Companies joining the Recycle Demand Champions initiativewill instruct[...]
Article: “All the ways recycling is broken—and how to fix them”
This article was originally published by Fast Company on April 4, 2019. To read the original, click here.
[Photo: Recycling Partnership]
A nonprofit called the Recycling Partnership gives cities grants for supplies like recycling bins along with consulting to help expand recycling, funded by [...]
City of Houston’s Solid Waste Management Department Launches a Pilot Education Campaign to Improve Curbside Residential Recycling
Houston, TX. (April 28, 2021) – The City of Houston is launching a curbside recycling cart-tagging pilot program modeled on The Recycling Partnership’s successful Feet on the Street campaign. The cart tagging initiative is aimed at improving the quality and quantity of recyclable materials colle[...]
First-Ever Can Capture RFP Announced for MRFs in Southeastern U.S.
The Recycling Partnership Joins CMI as Grant Program Partner to Evaluate Proposals and Provide Technical Assistance for Projects that Target Missorted or Lost Cans at Recycling Centers in the Southeast
FALLS CHURCH, Va (JAN. 26, 2021) – The Can Manufacturers Institute (CMI) and The Recycling P[...]
Facebook and The Recycling Partnership Launch Free Digital Tool, Online Community to Boost Easier, Improved Household Recycling
FALLS CHURCH, Va. (March 18, 2021) —Today, in honor of Global Recycling Day, The Recycling Partnership has launched Communities for Recycling, an innovative national initiative to provide Americans with real-time, personalized, and hyper-local recycling information through Facebook’s Messenger e[...]
Blog: Start at the Cart™: Key Concepts for Influencing Behavior
Recycling is many things. It is both a noun and a verb. To a waste professional it may be the collection and diversion of tons of marketable materials. To community members, recycling is an easy way to waste less and to contribute to the greater good. When asked about recyclables, however, most mist[...]
Press Release: Central Ohio Selected for Investment to Boost Curbside Recycling
America’s leading beverage companies join the Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio and The Recycling Partnership to deploy convenient recycling carts in Pleasant Township and Whitehall
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The American Beverage Association (ABA), in partnership with The Recycling Partnership and [...]
Press Release: The Recycling Partnership Announces First Grants to Improve Polypropylene Curbside Recycling for Millions of Americans
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[...]
Press Release: 10 U.S. Cities Representing 1.3 Million Households Receive Grants, Expected to Dramatically Expand, Increase Capture of Quality Recyclables
$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[...]
Press Release: U.S. Plastics Pact Launches to Ignite Change Toward Circular Economy for Plastic
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[...]
Webinar: A COVID-19 Industry Update from The Recycling Partnership
On Wednesday, May 27, The Recycling Partnership hosted a follow-up webinar with industry experts to answer the important question: What are on-the-ground impacts of the COVID-19 health crisis on recycling operations and workers? The supply chain and solid waste have both been deemed essential work i[...]
EGLE and National Nonprofit The Recycling Partnership Award More than $2M in Record-Setting Grants to Support Largest Expansion of Recycling in History of Detroit, Additional MI Communities
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[...]
Press Release: Newark Awarded Grant from The Recycling Partnership Through the Coca-cola Foundation for Education Campaign
For Immediate Release
City is receiving $140,000 recycling grant to raise awareness of what can and cannot be recycled and how to recycle;
Newark one of seven cities across nation to receive recycling grant
Newark, NJ—September 25, 2019—Mayor Ras J. Baraka, Public Works Director Khalif Thomas, T[...]
Sarasota Coasts in for a Recycling Win: Education + Carts = High Participation, More Material and Less Contamination
SARASOTA, FLA.—Participation and collection volumes are up, and contamination is notably low in Sarasota following a city-led recycling program reboot this spring that included amped-up education and new, 95-gallon single-stream carts, supported by the national non-profit, The Recycling Partnershi[...]
Press Release: Denver Awarded Grant from The Recycling Partnership and The Coca-Cola Foundation for Recycling Education Campaign
Aims to Reach More People to Help Increase Recycling Rate from 23% to 34%
DENVER – Mayor Michael B. Hancock, The Coca-Cola Foundation and national non-profit group The Recycling Partnership announced today the launch of a new large-scale recycling education campaign that will be piloted this summe[...]
Press Release: Target, Keurig Dr. Pepper, and Association of Plastic Recyclers join The Recycling Partnership Executive Committee
FALLS CHURCH, VA (May 14, 2019) – The Recycling Partnership today announced the appointment of a new chairwoman and two new members to its Executive Committee, as well as new committee chairs for its board governance, communications, and public affairs committees for 2019.
Kim Carswell, dir[...]
Get the tool you need to know your curbside recycling program is performing well! Ask about the MMP today.
Hey, municipal recycling coordinator! How do you know if your curbside recycling program is performing well? Do you know how to connect to powerful easy-to-use tools to increase your performance and address complicated issues like contamination? Do you have the ability to compare your multifamily,[...]
Blog: Our future depends on our actions. So, what are we wasting for?
By The Recycling Partnership Team
We live on a planet that is well known for having finite resources (and yes, some renewable ones, many of which we’re depleting at a rate that surpasses the rate of replacement). If we keep buying things that are made out of these finite and depleting resources,[...]
Press Release: Alcoa Foundation increases support of The Partnership through All In On Recycling Challenge
Foundation’s $300,000 grant will boost recycling across the country
Falls Church, VA (April 24, 2019) – Alcoa Foundation announced today it is contributing $300,000 to The Recycling Partnership, the nonprofit change agent transforming recycling for good. The donation will help boost residentia[...]
Scaling System Solutions for Action and Impact in the U.S. and Beyond
A “Do-ers” Reflection on Stockholm+50 & the United Nations Ocean Conference
by Keefe Harrison (she/her/hers) , CEO, The Recycling Partnership
There is a palpable sense of urgency for environmental action. And it’s not just that we can feel it, we can see it.
The next generati[...]
Empowering People to Recycle Right
If every home in the U.S. had convenient access to recycling, more than half of recyclable material would still be lost. Why? Because most Americans are confused about what and how to recycle. No recycling system performs at a high level without winning the hearts and minds of consumers to use it pr[...]
Advancing Recyclability of All Materials through the Polypropylene Recycling Coalition
The Polypropylene Recycling Coalition demonstrates the benefits to the entire recycling system that can result from efforts to solve material- specific recycling challenges. Polypropylene is an important packaging material increasingly used for various food and nonfood products; it is estimated to b[...]
Improving MRF Infrastructure to Increase Can Capture
Aluminum cans are among the most widely accepted packages for recycling. Within the packaging industry, they have leading recycled content rates and are consistently among the most valuable materials by weight in the recycling stream. However, according to Can Manufacturers Institute research, up to[...]
Behavior Change
Scaling Statewide Transformation in Michigan
The state of Michigan established the goal of increasing statewide recycling from 14% in 2019 to 45% by 2030. To reach this target, the state increased funding for recycling support, leading to a multiyear collaboration between the state’s Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) [...]
Driving Packaging Strategies with Plastic IQ
As U.S. companies seek to reduce waste, meet sustainability goals, and stay competitive, many are committing to ambitious packaging strategies designed to end plastic waste. But not all companies have data-driven resources to define these strategies. Plastic IQ is a free, digital strategy-building t[...]
Creating Clarity on the Pathway to Circularity
Navigating the recycling system has historically been challenging, in part because there are no widely accepted recyclability standards. Our Pathway to Circularity for Packaging, another example of collaboration to solve a complex challenge, was created to wash away the gray and bring necessary clar[...]
Improving the Quality of Recyclables in Orange County
When it comes to capturing the different materials that enter the U.S. residential recycling system, it is as important for residents to know what cannot be recycled as it is to know what can be recycled. Excessive contamination can cause a host of problems once the material is collected. The curbsi[...]
Overcoming Recycling Challenges through Coalitions
When a package or material does not meet the criteria for recyclability (see page 23, Pathway to Circularity), companies are encouraged to take action. Coalitions can address the recycling challenges of today and consider solutions for the challenges of tomorrow.
The Partnership currently leads thre[...]
Closing the Equity Gap through the Recycling Inclusion Fund
Our research shows that recycling services disadvantage certain streets, neighborhoods, and housing types along socioeconomic lines. Nearly 40 million U.S. residents lack the same level of access to recycling as they have to garbage service. That access gap is even larger for residents of multifamil[...]
Big City Modernization in Baltimore
The Partnership’s unique model of bringing communities and funding partners together, creates meaningful opportunities to drive large scale change in big cities. Prior to the fall of 2021, Baltimore, Maryland, residents lacked a consistent solution for recycling access, making it difficult for the[...]
Expanding Equitable Recycling Access in Orlando
When it comes to recycling access, multifamily communities are among the most underserved in the U.S. Members of the BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) community are approximately twice as likely to live in multifamily housing as non-BIPOC community members. That’s why The Partnership [...]
Expediting Circularity through U.S. Plastics Pact
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[...]
Blog: Catalyzing System Change – Recycling Inclusion Fund
By Jessica Levine
A mentor once asked me, “What is your wildest dream?” I told her I wanted to be a catalyst for change.
I discovered my passion for environment and sustainability during my senior year of high school. Very quickly, I began to immerse myself in academic studies related to the fie[...]
How Sheboygan Successfully Transformed Its Recycling Program During a Pandemic
Despite the Challenges of the COVID-19 Health Crisis, Sheboygan Transitioned to a Cart-Based Recycling Program and Increased Its Recycling Tonnage Nearly 20%
Few can claim 2020 was their year – that is with at least one exception. Sheboygan, Wisconsin, which transformed its recycling program amid [...]
Effective Recycling Bin Labels Reduce Consumer Confusion About Recycling
When educating the public around what is and is not accepted for recycling, space and attention spans are limited. Evidence-based research shows which recycling bin labels are most effective at reducing confusion about recycling
The Recycling Partnership’s recently released Recycling Confidence [...]
Fifth Round of MRF Grants Spur Modernization, Impacting Millions Nationwide
A critical component to creating a circular system, one where used packaging can be made into recycled material again and again, is a healthy and efficient materials recovery facility (MRF) system. The Recycling Partnership’s Paying It Forward report estimates the U.S. needs to invest $3 billion t[...]
Holding the Course: Domestic Reactions to Recycling Markets Spur Hope, Not Despair
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[...]
Blog: A Corporate Perspective Turned Inside Out
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[...]
Small Town Residential Recycling Improvements Aid Big Changes for Environment
What do piles of bulky waste in residential Ohio, the shore towns in Atlantic County, New Jersey, and billboards in Indiana have in common? They’re all part of The Recycling Partnership’s work to enhance recycling in small and rural communities across the United States.
Recycling should be possi[...]
The Truth on Recycling
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[...]
5 FREE Residential Recycling Tools & Resources to Download Right Now
Reduce, reuse, recycle. It’s a mantra that bears repeating and quite frankly there’s no time to waste.
As we approach America Recycles Day in November, let’s focus on that word “recycle.” There are many feelings and phrases associated with recycling. It makes me feel good when I recycle;[...]
BLOG: Key Takeaways from Public Comments on our Pathway to Circularity Recyclability Framework and What’s Coming Next
What did we learn from the feedback we received?
As a mission-driven organization focused on both system change and partnership, there isn’t much we enjoy more than a good bit of stakeholder feedback. So, when we launched the 30-day public comment period for the Pathway to Circularity’s Rec[...]
Blog: There’s no time to be timid
Greetings from Abu Dhabi. As the 2019 World Ocean Summit wraps up, and I prepare to head home, I’ve settled on my mantra for the year:
There’s no time to be timid.
Warming waters. Acidification. Marine debris. The ocean is the pulse of our planet and it needs our help. We know that climate ch[...]
Tackling Contamination – Say What You Want
By Elizabeth Schussler, Sr Dir Social Change, Behavior and Impact
Trying to fight contamination in your local recycling program? Ask specifically for what you want (or don’t want). Our research shows that much of contamination can be solved by telling residents exactly how to recycle properly. (Wa[...]
Partnership Empowers Atlanta, Chicago, and Denver to Measurably Improve Recycling
Less than half the recyclables in U.S. homes are captured: just 14 million tons out of an available 36 million are recycled every year from single-family homes. The Recycling Partnership is working to change that by improving recycling systems in hundreds of communities across America with financi[...]
Hale: “You’re Not in it Alone, So Why Go it Alone?”
This article, written by The Recycling Partnership’s former VP of Communications and recycling legend Jason Hale, was originally published by Sustainable Brands.
A Circular Economy: You’re Not in It Alone, So Why Go It Alone?
This is the second in a three-part series from The Recycling [...]
Jason Hale: “How We’re Fixing a Broken System”
This article, written by The Recycling Partnership’s former VP of Communications and recycling legend Jason Hale, was originally published by Sustainable Brands.
The Recycling Partnership: How We’re Fixing a Broken System
This is the third in a three-part series from The Recycling Partn[...]
Companies Try Boosting Demand for Recycled Plastics
This article was originally published by Bloomberg on Nov. 29, 2017.
The economics of plastic recycling have suddenly been upended, thanks to a Chinese import ban and cheap U.S. oil used to make virgin plastic. That’s made recycled plastic suddenly more expensive than virgin plastic and made it mo[...]
Blog: The EPA Needs to Take Action Now on Recycling
By Dylan de Thomas
Vice President of External Affairs
The Recycling Partnership
For many Americans, recycling is second nature. It’s something that we can’t imagine living without. The ethos of “waste not, want not” runs deep in our collective conscience. We feel bad when we throw something [...]
BLOG: What Helps People Better Understand Recycling Instructions?
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[...]
Sarasota Coasts in for a Recycling Win: Education + Carts = High Participation, More Material and Less Contamination
SARASOTA, FLA.—Participation and collection volumes are up, and contamination is notably low in Sarasota following a city-led recycling program reboot this spring that included amped-up education and new, 95-gallon single-stream carts, supported by the national non-profit, The Recycling Partnershi[...]