CONWAY—The University of Central Arkansas will be receiving 25 recycling bins designed specifically for placement indoors across the campus as part of a national recycling bin grant made possible by Keep America Beautiful (KAB) and The Coca-Cola Foundation.
In its 9th year, the Coca-Cola/KAB Recycling Bin Grant Program is providing nearly 4,500 recycling bins to colleges and universities, nonprofits and local governments, with 35 percent of the total to be used by students in collegiate residence halls.
“We are very excited about the opportunity to add 25 recycling containers to our campus, as this will allow us to address new areas. As UCA continues to grow with new facilities and increased enrollment, we need to be able to meet the demand for recycling collection areas. This grant from KAB and Coca-Cola is making that possible,” said Kevin Carter, Recycling and Custodial Services Manager, University of Central Arkansas.
Coca-Cola has expanded its investment in the bin grant program to include a specific focus on two-year community colleges, with 15 recycling bin grants going to two-year colleges and 28 grants going to traditional four-year colleges and universities.
The University of Central Arkansas will be receiving 25 Waste Watcher XL containers manufactured by Busch Systems. These containers accept mixed recyclables and will have lids with labels describing what types of materials are accepted. These containers retail for $159 per unit.
“Through this program and our more than 50-year partnership with Keep America Beautiful, we are helping to ensure that communities understand the importance of recycling,” said Lori George Billingsley, vice president, community relations, Coca-Cola North America. “Community recycling not only impacts the environment today, but it helps build sustainable communities for the future.”
“By providing recycling bins to communities, organizations and universities, we can make a difference in increasing recycling in the U.S. and help overcome a main barrier of recycling – convenience,” said Brenda Pulley, senior vice president, recycling, Keep America Beautiful. “We are truly grateful for Coca-Cola’s continued support and commitment to recycling, and the Recycling Bin Grant Program.”
Recipients were chosen by Keep America Beautiful based on criteria including the extent of their need, recycling experience and their ability to sustain the 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 Recycling Bin Grant Program awards recycling bins directly to recipients and leverages volume buying discounts. Since 2007, the program has placed more than 35,000 recycling bins in over 500 communities across the U.S. A full list of the spring 2014 Recycling 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 national network of community-based affiliates, we work with millions of volunteers who take action in their communities to transform public spaces into beautiful places. 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, follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook, or view us on YouTube.
About The Coca-Cola Foundation
Since its inception, The Coca-Cola Foundation has awarded more than $660 million to support global sustainable community initiatives, including water stewardship women’s empowerment and well-being. For more information about The Coca-Cola Foundation, please go to www.thecoca-colacompany.com/citizenship/foundation_coke.html.
About the College & University Recycling Coalition
The College & University Recycling Coalition (CURC) is a membership-based nonprofit organization made up of campus-based recycling and sustainability professionals seeking to exchange technical knowledge and best practices on recycling and waste reduction programs between institutions of higher learning. Originally formed in 1992, CURC became a technical council of the National Recycling Coalition in 1995 before branching off as an independent organization in 2009. Today, CURC counts nearly 900 members and is led by a board of directors made up of recycling and sustainability program managers from universities across the United States. Among other initiatives, CURC supports collegiate recycling programs through a free webinar series, annual workshops, a quarterly e-newsletter, the development of best-practices manuals and toolkits. For more information, go to www.curc3r.org.
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