Big beverage companies help Danvers cover cost of new recycling bins

Aug 06, 2023

DANVERS — Major beverage companies will invest more than $100,000 into Danvers’ new automated recycling pickup system.

Created by the Coca-Cola Company, Keurig Dr. Pepper, PepsiCo and Polar Beverages — along with sustainability organizations Closed Loop Partners, the Recycling Partnership and the World Wildlife Fund — the Every Bottle Back initiative aims to help places like Danvers improve the reuse of recyclable plastic bottles and other materials.

The town’s award will defray part of the $980,000 Town Meeting approved for Danvers to spend this spring on roughly 15,600 trash and recycling bins suitable for automated curbside refuse pickup that will eliminate the need for crews to ride on the back of trucks, Town Manager Steve Bartha said.

The grant will put $15 toward the cost of purchasing each recycling bin and $1 per bin purchased toward educating residents about recycling and the new refuse collection system, town officials said.

That’s about a 20% discount for each recycling bin, and will allow the town to re-appropriate roughly $100,000 of the $980,000 amount approved by Town Meeting back into Free Cash, Bartha said.

These standard-size, heavy duty bins are specially made for automated curbside pickup, a new collection system that will be rolled out this fall by the town and its refuse collector Republic Services, which bought Danvers’ old collector, JRM Hauling and Recycling, last year and started a new contract with the town in June.

“Our recycling and energy conservation coordinator, Erica DeDonato, deserves credit for securing this grant…” Bartha told The Salem News on Tuesday. “Had we not been awarded the grant, we would have had to buy the bins anyway.”

Danvers is projected to collect more than 6 million new pounds of recyclable material, including 87,000 pounds of aluminum and 262,000 pounds of fully-recyclable plastics, over the next decade using these carts, according to the statement from Every Bottle Back.

The town is the third community in the state to receive the grant, with other grant winners including Falmouth and Methuen. Nationally, 39 projects have received more than $23 million in funding from the Every Bottle Back initiative, the statement said.

“Larger carts and a modernized recycling system will help to improve curbside recycling for residents of Danvers so we can get more of our 100% recyclable bottles and cans back,” Kevin Keane, president and CEO of American Beverage, said in the statement. “We are thrilled to continue to work with local leaders and alongside our partners to make meaningful investments in the commonwealth.”

The distribution of the 95-gallon recycling barrels and 65-gallon trash carts to Danvers residents will begin Sept. 5 and wrap up around Sept. 29, according to the town’s website. Residents should begin using the carts as soon as they receive them, the town said.

These bins are expected to last over a decade and will be repaired as needed by the town, at the cost of the town.

Households can buy a second refuse bin if needed after Nov. 1.

“We are encouraging residents to utilize the carts provided for a month before requesting an additional cart to help promote waste reduction,” the town said in a statement. The Select Board is discussing how much additional carts will cost residents. The amount will be determined before Nov. 1, the town said, and information on how to request additional bins will be released closer to that date.

Danvers is scheduled to hold a drop-off collection day for old, unwanted refuse bins and barrels on Saturday, Sept. 23, at the Danvers High School parking lot from 10 a.m. to noon. Additional events will be planned as necessary, according to the town.

Danvers will return to every-other-week recycling collection through the new changes. For questions about the new refuse collection changes, call Danvers DPW at 978-777-0001 ext. 3011 or email the DPW at [email protected].

Contact Caroline Enos at [email protected] and follow her on Twitter @CarolineEnos

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