The Recycling Partnership awards UBC grants

The Recycling Partnership (TRP) has awarded four recycling facility operators with 2023 Aluminum Can Capture Grants as part of its Aluminum Recycling Initiative.

The four 2023 recipients are GreenWaste, San Jose, California; Pioneer Recycling, Tacoma, Washington; RDS, Portsmouth, Virginia; and Recycling Works, Elkhart, Indiana.

“Aluminum recycling is a natural fit in a circular economy, includes some of the most widely accepted packages for recycling and is consistently one of the most valuable materials by weight in the residential recycling system, providing critical economic and environmental impacts when recycled,” the Washington-based organization says, noting those reasons are why its Aluminum Recycling Initiative focuses on capturing more used beverage cans (UBCs) efficiently and effectively.

The Aluminum Can Capture Grants support investment in eddy current separators, robotic sorters and other equipment and process improvements that can capture more UBCs during sorting.

“The Recycling Partnership is excited to work with these four facilities to improve aluminum capture and facilitate recycling system advancements, which is projected to capture an estimated 1 million pounds (500 tons) of aluminum, which equates to approximately 33.8 million cans, annually,” TRP says.

Other companies that have received Aluminum Recycling Initiative Grants since 2021 include Curbside Management, Asheville, North Carolina; GEL Recycling, Orange City, Florida; Independent Texas Recyclers, Houston; Rivers Recycling, Kilgore, Texas; and Marquette County, Michigan.

The Aluminum Recycling Initiative has received support from the Can Manufacturers Institute, the Alcoa Foundation and the Arconic Foundation, with additional support from Cox Enterprises.

More information about the Aluminum Recycling Initiative can be found here.