National Coca-Cola Grant Program Awards Recycling Containers to 40 Colleges and 114 Communities

Keep America Beautiful Helps Decrease the Main Recycling Barrier: Convenience

STAMFORD, Conn., April 25, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Colleges, K-12 schools, nonprofits and local governments will advance their recycling efforts this summer thanks to a significant grant made possible by The Coca-Cola Foundation. The winning communities, schools, universities and organizations will receive between 5,000 and 5,200 recycling bins.  Over 70 percent of the bins are designed specifically for permanent, ongoing use in heavily-trafficked public spaces and events, with the remaining 30 percent to be used by students in college residence halls.

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In its 8th year, the Coca-Cola/Keep America Beautiful Recycling Bin Grant Program continues to recognize the significant need for public space recycling bins with over 1,200 applications received, a 22 percent increase in applications from 2012. Overall, 479 applications were from local governments, 143 from colleges, 312 from K-12 schools and 193 from nonprofits.

"One of the main barriers to recycling is convenience. Providing a recycling bin helps communities overcome that barrier," said Matthew M. McKenna, president and CEO, Keep America Beautiful. "We are truly grateful for Coca-Cola's support and commitment to recycling, and for its support and commitment of the Bin Grant Program."

As public space recycling becomes more common, communities are asking for recycling bins to be made available at athletic fields and local libraries, while walking down the street or at their hometown art or music festival. All of these venues are eligible to receive bins through the Coca-Cola/KAB Recycling Bin Grant Program.  While some grant recipients are seeking to expand established recycling programs, others such as Muskegon Community College in western Michigan will use the 40 indoor recycling bins it received to make recycling available for the first time in its student union and many of its academic buildings. Timpanogos High School in Orem, Utah, will receive bins to expand its school recycling program to include cans, bottles and plastic, while the City of Dayton, Ohio, chose a different style of bin for use at its community athletic fields where large numbers of beverage containers are generated.

"Through our support of the Bin Grant program and our long-standing partnership with Keep America Beautiful, we are helping to bring sustainability to life in local communities across the country," said Lori George Billingsley, vice president, community relations, Coca-Cola North America Group. "By increasing access to recycling today, we build sustainable communities for the future."

Recipients were chosen by Keep America Beautiful based on criteria including level of need, recycling experience and the ability of applicants to sustain their program in the future. Special outreach was made to colleges and universities through a partnership with the College and University Recycling Coalition (CURC), a membership organization serving campus recycling managers. 

The Coca-Cola/KAB Bin Grant Program awards recycling bins directly to recipients and leverages volume buying discounts. Since 2007, the Bin Grant Program has placed more than 29,000 recycling bins in over 300 communities in 48 states and the District of Columbia.  A full list of the spring 2013 Bin Grant recipients and further information about the grant program is available at http://bingrant.org/.

About Keep America Beautiful
Keep America Beautiful is the nation's leading nonprofit that brings people together to build and sustain vibrant communities. With a network of more than 1,200 affiliate and participating organizations including state recycling organizations, we work with millions of volunteers to take action in their communities. Keep America Beautiful offers solutions that create clean, beautiful public places, reduce waste and increase recycling, generate positive impact on local economies and inspire generations of environmental stewards. Through our programs and public-private partnerships, we engage individuals to take greater responsibility for improving their community's environment. For more information, visit kab.org.

About The Coca-Cola Foundation
Since its inception, The Coca-Cola Foundation has awarded more than $500 million to support global sustainable community initiatives, including water stewardship, community recycling, active healthy living, and education. For more information about The Coca-Cola Foundation, please go to www.thecoca-colacompany.com/citizenship/foundation_coke.html

CONTACTS
Lynn Markley / Kelley Dennings / Alec Cooley
Tel: 203.659.3072 / 202.688.0605 / 843.278.7686
Email: [email protected] / [email protected] / [email protected]
Web site: www.kab.org

SOURCE Keep America Beautiful