Keep America Beautiful and The Coca-Cola Foundation Fill Need for Recycling Bins in Public Spaces
Mesa Community College has received 20 event recycling bins designed specifically for placement at large campus events. The recycling bins are thanks to a grant made possible by Keep America Beautiful and The Coca-Cola Foundation.
According to Suzi Dodt, MCC's Sustainability Coordinator, “Recycling bins can be costly, and receiving these bins from this grant will enable us to expand our recycling program. Making recycling visible at our larger outdoor events further reflects our commitment to sustainability in our community, as well as setting an example of the importance of conserving natural resources.”
The bins, which are lightweight, portable, and collapsible, will be paired with trash cans at various outdoor student and community events throughout the semester, such as Fall Bash, Vendor Day, Spring Fling, Convocation, and Graduation. This will encourage more recycling of beverage containers that previously ended up in trash cans at larger events due to lack of portable, temporary recycling receptacles.
“Through our support of the Bin Grant program and our long-standing partnership with Keep America Beautiful, we are helping to bring sustainability to life in local communities across the country,” said Lori George Billingsley, vice president, community relations, Coca-Cola North America Group. “By increasing access to recycling today, we build sustainable communities for the future.”
“One of the main barriers to recycling is convenience. Providing a recycling bin helps communities overcome that barrier,” said Matthew M. McKenna, president and CEO, Keep America Beautiful. “We are truly grateful for Coca-Cola’s support and commitment to recycling, and for its support and commitment of the Bin Grant Program.”
Mesa Community College was one of 156 local government, schools, colleges and other community groups nation-wide to receive a grant. Recipients were chosen by Keep America Beautiful based on a number of criteria including level of need, recycling experience and the ability of applicants to sustain their program in the future. Keep America Beautiful and Coca-Cola partnered with the College and Recycling Coalition (CURC) to offer grants to CURC member campuses. The Bin Grant program awards recycling bins directly to recipients and leverages volume buying discounts. In its seven years of operation, the Bin Grant program has placed more than 29,000 recycling bins in more than 500 communities in 48 states and the District of Columbia. A full list of the spring 2013 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 network of more than 1,200 affiliate and participating organizations including state recycling organizations, we work with millions of volunteers to take action in their communities. Keep America Beautiful offers solutions that create clean, beautiful public places, reduce waste and increase recycling, generate positive impact on local economies and inspire generations of environmental stewards. 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.
About The Coca-Cola Foundation
Since its inception, The Coca-Cola Foundation has awarded more than $500 million to support global sustainable community initiatives, including water stewardship, community recycling, active healthy living, and education. 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.
About Mesa Community College
Mesa Community College provides outstanding transfer and career and technical programs, workforce development, and life-long learning opportunities to residents of the East Valley area of Phoenix, Arizona. MCC excels in teaching, learning and empowering its more than 40,000 students to succeed in a local and global community. Mesa Community College is one of ten colleges that comprise the Maricopa County Community College District.
Please direct media inquiries to Sally Mesarosh at mesarosh@mesacc.edu or the Office of Institutional Advancement at 480-461-7445. IA website: www.mesacc.edu/ia.