MADE TO BE REMADE GEORGIA INVESTS $137,500 IN COMMUNITY RECYCLING PROJECTS

New statewide nonprofit supports six organizations working to expand recycling opportunities and reduce litter

ATLANTA, Nov. 10, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Made to Be Remade Georgia, a new nonprofit established by the Georgia Beverage Association and its member companies, recently awarded $137,500 in grants to six organizations across the state working to expand recycling opportunities. Originally launched as an initiative in 2025, Made to Be Remade Georgia helps communities keep bottles and cans out of landfills and from littering waterways, roadsides, and public spaces. This year's funding supports everything from school recycling education and downtown business collection to improvements at community recycling facilities.

The idea behind Made to Be Remade Georgia is simple: an empty bottle or can doesn't have to become trash. The nonprofit helps communities make recycling more convenient, teach residents what belongs in the bin, and recover valuable materials that might otherwise end up as waste or litter. The Keep Georgia Beautiful Foundation serves as its official sustainability partner, mobilizing its network of approximately 70 local affiliates to bring these efforts to life.

"One of the most exciting things about this campaign is seeing how communities throughout Georgia are finding their own ways to make recycling work," said Kevin Perry, president of the Georgia Beverage Association. "These six organizations are bringing practical solutions to the places people live, learn, and work, helping turn more used bottles and cans into new materials instead of sending them to landfills."

The six 2026 Made to Be Remade Georgia grant recipients are:

• Keep Columbus Beautiful Commission — $25,000: Crush It & Clean It Columbus, a campaign combining neighborhood cleanups, recycling drives, and community walks to reduce litter and encourage physical activity
• Keep Douglasville Beautiful — $12,500: A hands-on school recycling program featuring classroom competitions and collection activities, expected to reach 1,000–1,200 students
• Keep Hall Beautiful — $25,000: An expansion of its Green Schools Initiative, providing recycling stations, educational resources, and activities designed to reach more than 9,700 students and educators
• Keep Pickens Beautiful — $25,000: Recycle Main Street, a new collection station serving downtown Jasper businesses in partnership with the City of Jasper and Pickens County Recycling Center
• Houston County Association for Exceptional Citizens — $25,000: Additional equipment and infrastructure to improve recycling operations at its Happy Hour recycling center while supporting vocational opportunities for adults with disabilities
• Keep North Fulton Beautiful — $25,000: A dedicated baler at the Sandy Springs Recycling Center to increase processing capacity for plastic bottles and aluminum cans

These latest investments build on the work of five inaugural grant recipients in 2025, whose projects demonstrate the many ways communities can make recycling easier and more accessible. Keep Macon-Bibb Beautiful's outreach campaign reached an estimated 26,000 residents through school visits, neighborhood activities, and more than 15,000 educational mailers. A three-school pilot led by the Athens-Clarke County Solid Waste Department introduced new collection bins, clearer signs, and staff training, increasing recycling diversion by nearly 25% at Cedar Shoals High School. And in Warner Robins, where municipal curbside recycling isn't available, the Houston County Association for Exceptional Citizens upgraded its recycling center to accept more types of plastics, giving residents more ways to keep those materials out of landfills.

Other recipients are finding creative ways to address different recycling challenges. Keep Carroll Beautiful purchased three collection trailers designed to bring aluminum can recycling closer to residents and make drop-offs more convenient. Along Georgia's coast, Keep Golden Isles Beautiful is taking a different approach: creating a video that follows a plastic bottle from the recycling bin through collection and processing, showing residents what really happens after they recycle and helping build confidence in the process.

Whether it's a student learning what belongs in the bin, a business gaining a convenient place to drop off recyclables, or a facility getting the equipment it needs, each project helps make recycling a little easier. Together, these efforts reflect the mission of Made to Be Remade Georgia: helping people see empty bottles and cans not as waste, but as materials ready for another life.

For more information about Made to Be Remade Georgia and how to get involved, visit georgiabev.org/madetoberemade.

About the Georgia Beverage Association and Made to Be Remade Georgia The Georgia Beverage Association has served Georgia's non-alcoholic beverage industry since 1918, advocating for responsible business practices and supporting environmental sustainability initiatives. Originally launched as a statewide recycling initiative in 2025, Made to Be Remade Georgia became a nonprofit organization in 2026. Established by the Georgia Beverage Association and its member companies, the nonprofit works to increase beverage container recycling and reduce waste and litter across the state. For more information, visit georgiabev.org/madetoberemade.

About the Keep Georgia Beautiful Foundation The Keep Georgia Beautiful Foundation, established in 1978, is a statewide nonprofit that educates and inspires Georgians to take action every day to improve and beautify their community environments. Through a dynamic statewide network of approximately 70 local affiliates, powered by dedicated volunteers and invaluable partners, KGBF brings people together to transform public spaces into beautiful places. For more information, visit kgbf.org.

SOURCE Made to Be Remade Georgia; Keep Georgia Beautiful Foundation