NATCHITOCHES – Northwestern State Athletics has ramped up its recycling commitment this year at all of its campus venues thanks to the Coca-Cola/Keep America Beautiful Public Space Recycling Bin Grant Program.
 
 Keep America Beautiful and The Coca-Cola Company are working together to address one of the primary barriers to recycling in public spaces by making access to recycling bins more readily available and convenient. Keep America Beautiful and The Coca-Cola Company awarded 35 recycling bins to NSU Athletics, making more bins available so that those watching and participating in NSU Athletics can recycle more effectively.
 
The bins have been in use at NSU's home venues for softball, baseball, football, soccer, track and field, tennis, basketball and volleyball, said acting director for special facilities Seth Douget.
 
"Northwestern State University has long had a strong commitment to recycling and beautification, and the support of Keep America Beautiful and Coca-Cola with this grant helps NSU Athletics further enhance those efforts," said director of athletics Greg Burke. "The support is very much appreciated."
 
In total, the Coca-Cola/Keep America Beautiful Public Space Recycling Bin Grant Program provides 3,522 recycling bins to colleges and universities, along with 996 bins to local governments and nonprofit organizations. The recycling bins are made possible through a grant from The Coca-Cola Foundation, the philanthropic arm of The Coca-Cola Company.
 
More than 45 percent of the bins are designed specifically for permanent, ongoing use in public spaces such as athletic fields, K-12 schools, fairs and festivals, special events and park settings, with the remaining 55 percent to be used by students in college residence hall settings. The program is expected to result in an estimated 1 million pounds of recyclable materials collected during their first year in use.
 
"The number one thing we can do to get people to recycle is make it convenient," said Brenda Pulley, senior vice president, recycling, Keep America Beautiful. "With Coca-Cola's continued support, the grant program addresses that need by creating thousands of new opportunities for people to recycle in public areas across the country."
 
"At Coca-Cola, we are working with partners across the country to invest in, and support a strong recycling system," said Bruce Karas, vice president of sustainability, Coca-Cola North America. "Through partnerships like the Keep America Beautiful and the Public Space Recycling Bin Grant program, we can help reduce overall waste by making it even easier and more convenient for people to recycle both at home and in public spaces." 
 
The Coca-Cola/Keep America Beautiful Recycling Bin Grant Program addresses lack of convenience by providing a significant number of bins in strategic locations. Including the first round of grants, over 49,000 recycling bins will have been placed by the program in 925 communities nationwide since its inception in 2007. In addition to the grants, Keep America Beautiful provides technical best practice guidance to grant recipients and organizations about setting up effective away-from-home and on-the-go recycling programs.
 
Grant recipients were chosen by Keep America Beautiful based on their potential to collect the most cans and bottles as well other considerations such as the extent of their need, recycling experience, and their ability to sustain the program in the future. A full list of the Coca-Cola/Keep America Beautiful Public Space Recycling Bin Grant recipients, as well as Keep America Beautiful's best practices guide, "Designing Effective Public Space Recycling Programs," are available at http://bingrant.org.
 
Behavioral research has shown that two of the primary barriers that stop people from recycling are the lack of convenient opportunities and confusion about what and how to recycle.  A 2009 study conducted by Keep America Beautiful showed only 12 percent of surveyed public locations had infrastructure to recover recyclable items. This lack of recycling opportunities is reflected in a separate national survey conducted for Keep America Beautiful in 2013, in which 92 percent of respondents said they recycle at home while only 41 percent indicated that they typically recycle in public spaces.  In addition to providing more convenient opportunities to recycle, the Coca-Cola/Keep America Beautiful Public Space Recycling Bin Grant helps to address the issue of confusion by providing bins that incorporate recognized best practices for bin design and labeling.
 
 
About Keep America Beautiful
At Keep America Beautiful, we want to ensure that beauty is our lasting signature. A leading national nonprofit, Keep America Beautiful inspires and educates people to take action every day to improve and beautify their community environment. We envision a country where every community is a clean, green, and beautiful place to live. Established in 1953, Keep America Beautiful provides the expertise, programs and resources to help people End Littering, Improve Recycling, and Beautify America's Communities. The organization is driven by the work and passion of more than 620 community-based Keep America Beautiful affiliates, millions of volunteers, and the support of corporate partners, municipalities, elected officials, and individuals. To donate or take action, visit kab.org. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram, like us on Facebook, or view us on YouTube.
 
About The Coca-Cola Foundation
The Coca-Cola Foundation is the global philanthropic arm of The Coca-Cola Company. Since its inception in 1984, the Foundation has awarded more than $820 million in grants to support sustainable community initiatives around the world. For more information about The Coca-Cola Foundation, please visit www.coca-colagivingback.com.