Three-Year Initiative to Cut Waste in Atlanta : $4m Atlanta Program from The Recycling Partnership & The Coca-Cola Foundation

Backed by The Coca-Cola Foundation, The Recycling Partnership is launching a three-year $4 million program that will improve access to recycling, and is hoped to dramatically increase the capture of more quality recyclable items in the City of Atlanta.

The Recycling Partnership is a national non-profit organisation that leverages corporate partner funding to transform recycling for good in states, cities and communities all across America.

Keisha Lance Bottoms, Atlanta Mayor: “The City of Atlanta is eager to work with partners like The Recycling Partnership to design a more sustainable future for our community and our country, and we appreciate The Coca-Cola Foundation’s support as well.

“Given the growing problem of packaging waste, it’s critical that Atlanta design a more efficient recycling system to keep as many of those materials as we can out of the landfill and back in the recycling stream.

I hope this new partnership and program will allow our city to stake out a leadership position on recycling that can serve as inspiration and a model for other communities throughout the country that are looking to address similar challenges and drive long-term recycling system change.”

Feet on the Street

The anchor of the new city-wide recycling program is the Partnership’s ‘Feet on the Street’ cart tagging education campaign, which was successfully piloted in select areas within the City of Atlanta in 2017.

Cody Marshall, Chief Community Strategy Officer of The Recycling Partnership. Commented: “Every home has the power to keep 800 pounds of recyclables out of the landfill every year. By educating Atlanta residents at the cart with easy-to-understand what and what not to recycle tags, we are driving positive behavior change to help the City of Atlanta capture more quality recyclables.

“These quality recyclables are then put back into the recycling system stream, creating a healthier economy, a less wasteful planet and stronger communities.

Kanika Greenlee, Executive Director of Keep Atlanta Beautiful Commission: “We saw a 57% decrease in overall contamination and 27% increase in overall capture of quality recyclables in 2017 with the Partnership model.

“City of Atlanta residents want to recycle and to recycle correctly. We will drive powerful recycling change throughout our entire city with this innovative model.”

Helen Smith Price, President of The Coca-Cola Foundation: “There’s no better place to support a recycling movement than in our hometown of Atlanta.

“Through The Recycling Partnership’s proven recycling education model, we hope to help Atlanta become a city without packaging waste.”

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