ASU receives recycling bin grant from Coca-Cola, Keep America Beautiful

Arizona State University is the recipient of a 2015 recycling bin grant from the national nonprofit Keep America Beautiful and the Coca-Cola Foundation.

More than 3,600 recycling bins are being distributed to 37 colleges and universities as part of the Coca-Cola/Keep America Beautiful Recycling Bin Grant Program. ASU will receive 75 bins.

“We will distribute the 23-gallon bins to the Thunderbird School of Global Management to further our recycling program collections at the university’s newest location,” said Alana Levine, ASU Recycling Program Manager.

Located a few miles west of the ASU West campus in Glendale, Arizona, the Thunderbird School became a unit of the Arizona State University Knowledge Enterprise at the end of 2014.

“Our recycling team is enthusiastic about placing the bins at the Thunderbird School this summer and expanding our collections to more areas in an effort to divert recyclables from the waste stream,” Levine added.

As part of the grant terms, ASU Recycling team members will track the amount of recycled items captured by the bins during the first year of use. The collections information will be distributed in reports KAB sends to the Coca-Cola Foundation.

According to Keep America Beautiful information, nearly 45,000 recycling bins – including the 2015 grants – have been placed in the program nationwide since its inception in 2007.

“We are grateful for the Keep America Beautiful, Coca-Cola recycling bins grant that moves us closer to achieving the university’s zero solid waste and climate neutrality goals,” Levine said.

ASU defines zero solid waste as a 90 percent reduction in landfill waste from current business-as-usual status. Diversion and aversion are the methods ASU takes to achieve zero waste. Waste is averted through reduced consumption and diverted from the landfill through recycling, composting, and reusing or repurposing.

To learn more about steps ASU is taking to reduce solid waste and achieve climate neutrality, read the university’s 2014 Sustainability Operations Annual Review. For more information about the Coca-Cola/Keep America Beautiful recycling bins grant program, read their recent press release.