America Recycles Day marked its 28th year on Saturday as a way to recognize recycling improvements and investments nationwide.
The day first started as an effort to educate consumers about recycling, and it has evolved each year since then.
This year, a variety of local, state and national groups used America Recycles Day as an opportunity to announce grant funding and award recognitions for key projects meant to improve recycling access and infrastructure.
Here’s a roundup of some of the week’s America Recycles Day news.
Every Bottle Back invests $2 million for recycling projects
American Beverage’s Every Bottle Back initiative, supported by beverage companies The Coca-Cola Company, Keurig Dr Pepper and PepsiCo, announced it has invested over $2 million in 2025 for recycling infrastructure projects in seven states.
The investments, made in collaboration with Closed Loop Partners and The Recycling Partnership, helped deliver 1 million recycling carts to households this year, the organizations said in a prior news release. The groups aim to expand recycling access by “improving the infrastructure that turns used bottles and cans into new ones.”
The Wasatch Integrated Waste Management District in Utah received a $478,500 grant to provide recycling carts in multiple municipalities as part of a larger project to improve curbside access for 35,865 households across the region.
The communities of South Hadley, Longmeadow and Arlington in Massachusetts received a $471,200 grant to add additional carts and standardize cart sizes. Over the last few years, American Beverage says it has spent more than $1 million in the state for such initiatives.
Pensacola, Florida, received a $263,250 grant for new on-truck AI camera technology meant to help reduce contamination for 54,000 residents, and the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality received a $300,000 grant in partnership with The Recycling Partnership to improve rural recycling in the state.
Municipalities and state agencies in Michigan, Alabama and Rhode Island also received grants in 2025. American Beverage says it will continue its grant funding in 2026 with projects meant to “expand infrastructure, modernize collection systems, educate communities on proper recycling practices and advance policy solutions that make recycling more efficient, accessible and financially sustainable nationwide.”
Can’d Aid offers 10 grants for festival and community recycling efforts
Can’d Aid, a Colorado-based nonprofit that raises money for recycling, disaster assistance and environmental conservation projects, announced 10 recipients of its Crush It Crusade grant program. The program aims to help communities and outdoor event organizers launch new or expand existing community recycling programs. The program is in partnership with The Ball Foundation.
Can’d Aid did not disclose each grant amount, but the organization has previously said Crush it Crusade awards are typically between $2,500 and $8,000. Over 11 years, Can’d Aid’s Crush It Crusade has funded more than 120 community organizations, municipalities, parks and festivals across 35 states, the organization said in a news release.
North Carolina-based Ocean Fest will use the grant for a zero waste and recycling engagement at OysterFest and OysterPalooza, while Clean Memphis will fund citywide recycling resources such as workshops and toolkits. The Solid Waste Services department in Corpus Christi, Texas, will fund recycling engagement projects at community events. Music festivals such as the Sisters Folk Fest in Sisters, Oregon and Supernova International in Hampton, Virginia, will improve their event-based recycling infrastructure. Other grant recipients will boost recycling efforts in Colorado, Massachusetts and Ohio.
Wisconsin recognizes outstanding state recycling programs
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources’s 2025 Wisconsin Recycling Excellence Awards recognized 22 organizations for “going above and beyond” the state’s recycling laws that ban certain materials from disposal.
Oneida County’s Recycling Extravaganza was recognized for collecting 25.5 tons of electronics, 291 pounds of plastic bags and film, and other items. The Bikes for Kids Wisconsin program has diverted more than 14,135 bikes from disposal through its refurbishment program and recycled another 108,000 pounds of non-repairable bike parts since 2017, according to DNR.
Calumet County’s local VFW Post 3153 recycled about 12,000 pounds of film plastic for Trex, a company that makes plastic decking and furniture with the material. The City of De Pere was recognized for efforts to clean up recycling streams through informational flyers, cart tagging programs and educational QR code stickers on bins for residents to scan.
Other faith-based organizations, companies and schools also received recycling awards for their work diverting food waste from disposal, setting up recycling drop-off programs and hosting recycling education events. DNR has given out the recycling awards for the last 13 years.
