Katherine Lugar, president and CEO, American Beverage

MARQUETTE — American Beverage, in partnership with The Recycling Partnership, has announced that communities within Marquette County will receive an investment as a part of the Every Bottle Back initiative, a beverage industry-led effort to reduce the industry’s plastic footprint and keep bottles out of nature.

Through The Recycling Partnership, America’s leading beverage companies are investing $68,800 to provide free higher-capacity recycling carts and recycling education materials to 4,450 households in Marquette County, including Marquette, Negaunee and Ishpeming townships. This investment is expected to yield over 8 million new pounds of recyclable materials over 10 years.

Through Every Bottle Back, the beverage industry is working to expand equitable access to recycling and educate residents about how to best recycle in their community.

“This investment is an important step toward helping communities within Marquette County increase recycling rates and create a more circular economy,” said Katherine Lugar, president and CEO of American Beverage, in a news release. “We are thrilled to build on our industry’s commitment to reduce the use of new plastic and ensure our valuable bottles do not end up in a landfill or as litter in our communities.”

Launched in 2019 by American Beverage, the Every Bottle Back initiative is an integrated and comprehensive partnership by The Coca-Cola Company, Keurig Dr. Pepper and PepsiCo, alongside sustainability leaders at The Recycling Partnership, Closed Loop Partners and World Wildlife Fund. It is designed to improve the collection of plastic bottles so they can be remade into new ones.

This investment in communities within Marquette County is the sixth of 12 initial projects that the industry has committed to fund under Every Bottle Back.

“The investments within Marquette County will have an incredible impact on thousands of families in Ishpeming, Marquette and Negaunee townships, allowing them to recycle more effectively,” said Derek Bajema, president and CEO of the Michigan Soft Drink Association. “We applaud (the) investment and look forward to working with all those in Michigan who share our commitment of a more circular economy.”

The Recycling Partnership, alongside American Beverage and the Michigan Soft Drink Association, is proud to partner with communities within Marquette County to increase the amount of recyclable materials collected in Michigan, said Keefe Harrison, CEO of The Recycling Partnership, in a news release.

The partnership is a nonprofit that works with city governments nationwide to transform their recycling programs.

“Bold public-private partnerships like this are critical to the improvement and growth of recycling in the United States,” Harrison said.