Mass Bev — The trade association that represents the refreshment beverage industry in Massachusetts

Our partner at the national level is the American Beverage Association and they continue to find ways to get the fierce competitors to work collaboratively on matters of sustainability and recycling. In partnership with World Wildlife Fund, The Recycling Partnership and Closed Loop Partners they embarked upon a bold initiative to promote awareness and support the development of recycling infrastructure in our cities and towns with the goal of getting Every Bottle Back!

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The Massachusetts Beverage Association and its members want to continue driving the message the recycling can work, especially with its bottles and cans which are 100% recyclable and represent the most valuable commodities in the waste stream.

Massachusetts is 1 of 10 states that has a bottle deposit law. Learn more about how deposit systems work.

Currently, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is redeeming only 37.5% of the containers under the deposit system but that doesn’t mean the other 62.5% isn’t getting recycled. The vast majority of this pool of containers is being recycled through existing municipal streams, like transfer stations and curbside pickup.

MA Deposit Sales, Redemptions and Unclaimed Deposits

September 2021

Massachusetts Recycling Challenge

In 2012 the MBA and ABA developed a program to demonstrate our commitment to public space recycling and that is called the Massachusetts Recycling Challenge. Our goal is to help communities understand best practices in municipal recycling, to fund public space infrastructure and promote awareness to encourage more recycling.

Highlights

Four workshops in central and southeastern Massachusetts to provide technical assistance along with practical examples of PAYT systems in place. Representatives of more than 50 cities and towns have participated in one or more of these sessions.
In addition, MRC’s consultant, DSM Environmental, has provided direct support to more than a dozen communities related to PAYT and other efforts to enhance diversion and increase recycling.
MRC has provided on-the-ground consulting expertise through DSM Environmental Services to work with communities to assess public space recycling needs and opportunities, select the right equipment and locations, and develop plans for installing and servicing the equipment. MRC provides funding for the consulting support and the purchase price of the bins.

MRC has completed several bin projects so far and has expanded its reach to digital advertising to increase awareness and education.

Hover over map for more information and please contact us if you are interested in a project in your community.

Salem, MA

Pedestrian mall, downtown
Total bin spend: $18,750

Worcester, MA

City Center, downtown, bus stops
Total bin spend: $22,250

Quincy, MA

City downtown bus stops including central historic sites and Wollaston downtown
Total bin spend: $24,000

Gardner, MA

Bus stop in downtown
Total bin spend: $1,200

Taunton, MA

City Center downtown including city parks
Total bin spend: $22,000

Dracut, MA

Town Hall, Library, recreation parks
Total bin spend: $22,787

Dedham, MA

City Center downtown
Total bin spend: $9,100

Swansea, MA

Beach, parks, library/town hall, and bike/walking path
Total bin spend: $16,500

Marion, MA

Beach, parks and marina
Total bin spend: $12,500 (estimate)

Lowell, MA

Cawley Stadium and park
Total bin spend: $25,000 (estimate)

Cambridge, MA

MBTA - Alewife Station, two large kiosks with promotional/educational panels.
Total bin spend: $10,000
MBTA Phase 2 – Matching a grant from Cambridge Redevelopment Authority for bins at Davis, Porter, Harvard, Central and Kendall.
Total bin spend: $10,000

Brockton, MA

18 new recycling receptacles to be placed in parks throughout the city, including DW Fields Park, North JH Park, Hollister Park, Charlie Petty’s Athletic Field, and Hancock Park
Total bin spend: $19,338

Wakefield, MA

Paired 18 recycling bins with existing litter collection receptacles in Town’s public parks
Total bin spend: 26,453

Cape Cod, MA

Take Care Cape Cod - Working in partnership CARE for the Cape and Islands and Cape Cod Anti-Litter Coalition, we collaborated on the development of some great artwork focused specifically on recycling bottles and cans. Total membership and artwork contribution: $11,000

MRC and the ABA partnered on a digital awareness campaign that resulted in 12 million impressions and 2.2 million unique viewers, with each ad seen an average of 5.6 times by each unique viewer. Total contribution: $80,000

Cape Cod Anti-Litter Coalition – Joined in 2020 and donate $2,500 to distribute educational materials in local schools.

Take Care Cape Cod

Working in partnership with CARE for the Cape and Islands and Cape Cod Anti-Litter Coalition, we collaborated on a digital awareness campaign that targeted visitors and local business owners on the Cape to generate awareness of recycling bottles and cans.

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