Recycling Partnership celebrates milestone
U.S. non-profit has helped 100 communities in U.S. elevate the level of their recycling programs
The Recycling Partnership is celebrating a milestone in 2016: helping its first 100 communities improve their recycling programs. Hand-in-hand with these communities, The Partnership says they are elevating the level of U.S. recycling, which ultimately means more high quality tons of recovered material captured for manufacturing feedstock worldwide.
“With the challenges that communities across America are facing today, our ability to innovate and transform local programs is increasing in demand,” shared Keefe Harrison, Executive Director of The Recycling Partnership. “Our hope is that over the next 24 months we can drive measurable change in an additional 200 cities. In striving to reach that target, we are continually able to grow our scope and scale as new companies join our ranks, recognizing the value of our work in meeting their sustainability goals and building consumer trust.”
In fact, The Partnership cruised past the 100 community mark in June, as it selected its latest round of grant partners. Beyond funding for new infrastructure, these new grantees will receive best-in-class technical and operational assistance to improve their programs.
“Each community needs a different level of support,” said Karen Bandhauer, City Services Director for The Partnership. “That’s why our free technical support is so important. Most cities have very limited resources, their staffs are stretched thin, and our experience in implementing best practices eases their burden and helps move them forward.”
The Partnership offers communities several levels of service, including open source resources, free technical support, economic modeling, education programming, grants for switching to cart-based curbside recycling, and programs to improve the quality of curbside recyclables collected.
“We see a future where every curbside recycling program operates at peak efficiency, maximizing the quantity of recyclables collected at the highest possible quality. There is no silver bullet to achieve this, and that is why a great team armed with powerful tools and practices is so important,” noted Harrison.
Since the start of 2015, the U.S. nonprofit has completed and is working on projects catalyzing $21 million of new recycling infrastructure that positively impacts 2.4 million households. In addition, The Recycling Partnership has expanded its model to include statewide partnerships, driven change through MRF and state recycling leaders working groups, and expects to complete placement of over 300,000 new recycling carts over the coming months. By consistently delivering these tangible results, The Recycling Partnership is successfully helping consumers, companies, and America’s recycling industry win.
