Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex Named First Region for Every Bottle Back Initiative

 

The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex will be the first region of investment under the Every Bottle Back initiative to increase the collection of 100% recyclable plastic bottles. This initiative was launched last year by the American Beverage Association (ABA), Every Bottle Back joins The Coca-Cola Co., Keurig Dr Pepper and PepsiCo with environmental and sustainability leaders World Wildlife Fund, Closed Loop Partners and The Recycling Partnership. Competitors in the beverage industry and environmental and sustainability advocates have come together to support the circular plastics economy by reinforcing to consumers the value of 100% recyclable plastic bottles and caps and ensuring they don’t end up as waste in oceans, rivers or landfills.

Every Bottle Back will invest in the collection, recycling and processing systems in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. This breakthrough initiative seeks to reduce the use of new plastic by increasing the amount of valuable plastic bottles that are reclaimed, recycled and remade into new bottles. The effort includes partnering with local government and community leaders to help educate consumers on how to recycle better and decrease recycling contamination.

Efforts in Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex will include:

Partnerships with The Balcones Material Recovery Facility (MRF), where Every Bottle Back will invest $2 million into the facility, enhancing it with state-of-the-art technology, such as optical sorters, machinery with artificial intelligence, and robotic arms that separate recyclable plastics, along with new belt configurations to improve the processing of more recyclable materials.

Multifamily housing complexes in the Dallas Metroplex, where approximately 50,000 residents will benefit from expanded recycling access as a result of upgraded recycling collection vehicles, on-site and in-unit educational signage and outreach, and new containers, in-unit bins, and totes for recycling. New services will also be convenient with recycling picked up at residents’ front door.

The City of Fort Worth, where cart-to-cart outreach and best-in-class educational materials on how to recycle and cut down on contamination of recyclable materials will be available to residents in more than 232,000 homes.

The North Central Texas Council of Governments, where a public service campaign called “Know What to Throw” will educate residents across 230 communities about how to decrease contamination of valuable recyclable materials, like PET bottles and aluminum cans.

Overall, nearly $3 million will be invested in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex as part of the Every Bottle Back initiative including in infrastructure, MRF improvements, access, education to single-family and multifamily homes. These investments are expected to yield 3 million lbs of newly recovered PET plastic annually.