During my time as the Chair of The Recycling Partnership Board of Directors, it’s become clear that this Partnership team is a team of doers. Dedicated, thoughtful, and fully engaged, the staff of this organization is committed to upholding their core values and delivering on their mission. In every engagement with them I see a strong, supportive team ready to solve problems, lend a hand, and proceed with speed and integrity. I also see a team that is open to the changing environment, and ready to pivot when needed to follow The Partnership’s north star: To catalyze a billion dollars of investment in the U.S. recycling system. That’s just what the circular economy needs in the U.S., and I’m glad to be a partner of this organization. 

It’s that community work, coupled with policy leadership and strategic thinking so evident in the Bridge to Circularity report, that will drive the change we need in the U.S. This organization is fiercely mission focused on supporting communities while engaging brands and their supply chains on meeting their goals. Since day one, this organization has been designed to bring companies and communities together to the problem-solving table and in several recent initiatives show the effectiveness of that model. Here are just a few examples: 

• Large Corporate Contributions to Advance Our Mission. In 2019 The Recycling Partnership was issued an impressive $50 million contribution from the American Beverage Association. These dollars are not a one-off project. Instead, over the next five years, they will fund the organization’s core work of elevating the U.S. Recycling System for all materials, including bottles. 

• Material Specific Problem Solving. Through a collaboration with Fibre Box and the American Forest and Paper Association, the team was able to develop and test messaging campaigns to increase the recovery of pizza boxes in Sarasota, Fla. 

• Helping Companies Deliver on Sustainability Pledges. In 2018, The Recycling Partnership was issued a $10 million grant from PepsiCo Foundation to launch a five-year All In On Recycling effort to improve the recycling opportunities for 25 million families. These grants help build stronger recycling programs for more than 13 communities to date. Similarly, when Coca-Cola made their 2018 World Without Waste pledge to recycle one for one every bottle they produce, they looked to The Recycling Partnership as a key partner to help deliver on their goals. They know that The Recycling Partnership’s work is rooted in data, transparency, and system change. 

• Leveraging Carbon Credit. In addition to donating Carbon Credit funds to The Partnership, the proceeds of Love Beauty Planet’s Mother’s Day and Holiday gift pack sales went to support recycling grants to communities as part of the brand’s carbon offset program. 

Many thanks to my fellow funding partners who collaborate for systems change in this country. Because of your support, this organization has had tremendous growth, and with you, we’ll continue to help citizens and communities deliver stronger recycling and a clear path toward circularity. We all know this is what our citizens expect and that expectation will only grow. As The Partnership staff say, we’re all in this bin together, and together we can lead meaningful solutions.

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Be Well,

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