Plastics. They’re everywhere and at times unavoidable. Plastics are a necessary nuisance of today’s world and have become a persistent problem in our environment and to species world wide, but they don’t have to be. Proper recycling is the easiest, most accessible solution to cutting down on single use bottles. Every single year it is estimated that 100 billion bottles are produced, but only 30 billion of them are recycled. This leaves 70 billion plastic bottles running loose throughout the Earth. The Ocean Conservancy organization has reported that 8 million metric tons of it wind up in oceans annually. Society is fully aware of this crisis and now the question is, what are we going to do about it?
In October, 2019, The American Beverage Association (ABA) took action to help correct this issue. They created the Every Bottle Back program and mapped out its intent and goals for the decade. It all starts with materials. The American Beverage Association distributes 100% recyclable plastic bottles. The Coca-Cola Company, Keurig, Dr. Pepper and PepsiCo are actively designing their bottles to be 100% recyclable including their caps. Turns out all plastic isn’t the same. The specific plastic (PET) is intended to be reused, not only into new bottles but tons of other everyday items. PET is special in its light weight and durability. Therefore, it is highly sought-after, making their recirculation all the more important and they want them ALL back. The average person uses 156 plastic bottles per year. If just 10 of those bottles made their way back into production, it would save enough energy to run a laptop for 25 hours. The potential conservation would be immense if all 156 made their way back into production.
As always, action trumps awareness and action is what needs to happen. In tackling this agenda, Every Bottle Back was born and began supporting local recycling programs in an effort to make recycling easier for all consumers. The presence of this initiative is spreading in various communities by adding access to more recycling receptacles, especially in beaches, parks and street corners. This is a huge group effort. Collaborative partnerships between the beverage industry, the government, and environmental organizations have been the necessary trinity for this highly impactful work. To reduce the carbon footprint and get back every bottle, ABA is working with World Wildlife Fund through the resource plastic initiative. By partnering with Recycling Partnership and Closed Loop Partners, improvements have been made in recycling access, residential education, and refining recycling infrastructures. In addition to these three groups, the ABA has also begun partnerships with local governments, national organizations, and community leaders so that each community their own individual resources. By supporting policy makers, nonprofits, industry partners, consumers and communities, 10 states have already received significant funding and resources to assist them with their forward progress.
Bridget Croke, Managing Director at Closed Loop Partners explains,
“Our goal is to make a significant impact over a 10 year period, so we’re really building a strategy to optimize beverage container recovery. We can leverage the dollars put in by this group and this industry to bring other industries along.”
At the end of the 10-year mark of this project, 646 million new pounds of plastic are estimated to be collected and remade into new bottles. Successful progress have been made since the launch of Every Bottle Back and positive reports have been made. Here are just a few of the victories that made the top of the list.
▪️11 projects in Texas, Wisconsin, Michigan, Oklahoma, and Ohio have received committed funding from Every Bottle Back just in its first year.
▪️The equivalent of $400 million is being directed and backed by a $100 million industry fund that investors and other grants will match 3 to 1.
▪️1 million bins have been donated to 1,000 plus communities.
▪️Along with bottle caps being sustainable, 100% recyclable aluminum, plastic and glass beverage containers are being produced.
▪️Hundreds of millions of pounds of raw materials have been salvaged by reducing packaging.
▪️150,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions were prevented in North America alone thanks to the PlantBottle designed by Cola Cola.
Every Bottle Back is more than just a collection program, it’s a movement of sustainability. The efforts made thus far have been impactful and will continue in the future. As consumers, we have the easiest job of all, to simply recycle our bottles. The smallest of deeds done by a collective body can grow into transformative progress. We have the capability to influence positive change, and we can do it one bottle at a time.