Did you know that US landfills comprise over 80% recyclable material, with only 12% of plastic being reused or recycled per year?
The Florida Beverage Association and its members are committed to a cleaner planet for all. That’s why America’s leading beverage companies are working together to reduce our industry’s plastic footprint through the ‘Every Bottle Back’ initiative. ‘Every Bottle Back’ will ensure that our plastic bottles are collected and remade into new bottles, as intended, meaning less new plastic in the environment.
“Many people don’t know that our bottles are carefully designed to be 100% recyclable, including the cap,” explains FBA President and CEO Elizabeth DeWitt. “This initiative supports our ongoing commitment to protect the environment and gets us one step closer to reducing the carbon footprint and creating a more circular economy for recyclables.”
Why Every Bottle Back
The Every Bottle Back initiative is a nationwide effort by the beverage industry to reduce the use of new plastic across the nation. By ensuring bottles and cans are crafted from 100% recyclable materials, consumers can recycle the entire bottle so they don’t end up polluting nearby oceans, rivers, or landfills.
Increasing the use of post-consumer recycled materials through partnerships with Closed Loop Partners, and The Recycling Partnership is a top priority of the beverage industry. In addition, bolstering recycling infrastructure through public-private partnerships helps ensure that communities can recycle all our bottles in their entirety, which means less room for litter and more opportunity for bottles to end up where they belong – in the recycling bin.
“When we get our plastic bottles back, they can be used by our beverage companies to make new bottles or by other consumer goods companies to make products like coats, shoes, furniture, park benches, and even playground equipment,” says DeWitt. “Every Bottle Back ensures that our bottles are being reused in a way that benefits our community and environment.”
Value of PET
An annual report by the National Association for PET Container Resources, NAPCOR, found that the demand for PET, polyethylene terephthalate, is steadily increasing. It is currently the only plastic material that can be recycled back into food-grade material. In fact, in 2020, there was a 10% increase in demand for recycled PET, with the food and beverage category as the fastest-growing category, increasing 36 percent from 2019 to 2020.
Learn more:
To learn more about Every Bottle Back and how you can get involved, visit here or go to www.everybottleback.org