Coca-Cola UNITED and its partners at American Beverage Association and the Alabama Beverage Association have teamed up to support the creation of a new recycling collection facility in Mobile, Ala., funded by a $57,000 grant from The Recycling Partnership.

“Communities across Alabama need greater access to recycling and, thanks to this investment, Mobile residents will soon be able to recycle valuable beverage containers easier than ever before,” said Virginia Banister, president of the Alabama Beverage Association. “We are thankful to work with the Alabama Department of Environmental Management and The Recycling Partnership to bring this facility to life and look forward to continuing to find ways to create a cleaner and more sustainable future for Alabamians.”

As part of the non-alcoholic beverage industry’s Every Bottle Back initiative, the Mobile project is one of 53 currently funded across the US expected to yield more than 900 million new pounds of recyclable plastic and 87 million pounds of aluminum over the next decade. In Mobile, the new facility is projected to collect 130,000 pounds of aluminum and 390,000 pounds of recyclable plastic over the next 10 years.

“We are excited to help provide access to modernized recycling collection for residents of Mobile with the first Every Bottle Back investment in the great state of Alabama,” said Kevin Keane, president and chief executive officer of American Beverage. “Supporting this new facility will improve recycling rates and ensure that our recyclable bottles and cans can be properly collected and remade as intended – and that helps us reduce our use of new plastic.”

In addition to boosting the number of recyclable materials gathered and processed in Mobile, the public-private partnership also includes hiring of an on-site attendant to oversee the facility and creating a public education program to reach nearly 100,000 households.

“We are proud to support the creation of a new recycling facility in Mobile, home to one of our major production and sales centers,” said Keith Watson, vice president of Coca-Cola UNITED’s Sun Coast Division. “At Coke, we are committed to reducing our plastic footprint and building a more sustainable future – a commitment we enforce not just on Earth Day, but the whole year through.”

Launched in 2019, the Every Bottle Back initiative is a partnership between The Coca-Cola Company, Keurig Dr Pepper and PepsiCo – alongside sustainability leaders Closed Loop Partners, The Recycling Partnership and World Wildlife Fund – designed to reduce the beverage industry’s use of new plastic. Together, these competitors are working to produce 100 percent recyclable bottles and ensure they are recycled and don’t become part of the environment.