PURCHASE, N.Y. -- PepsiCo Inc. and The Nature Conservancy, the world's largest conservation organization--with help from convenience store chain Kum & Go--are joining forces to encouraging consumers to recycle more often to help protect drinking water sources throughout the United States. As part of a new five-year partnership called "Recycle for Nature," PepsiCo will expand the availability of recycling bins at gas stations and c-stores.
PepsiCo and The Nature Conservancy will kick off the partnership by expanding a pilot program that PepsiCo has been running in Tulsa, Okla., since 2012 in collaboration with Kum & Go convenience stores and gas stations. The goal for this near-term expansion is to drive a tenfold increase in the number of recycling bins in the area.
According to a PepsiCo national survey, 81% of Americans say they would recycle beverage containers at a retail location if proper bins were available. At away-from-home locations, recycling bins are available only 12% of the time.
This project is part of PepsiCo's collaboration with Walmart to increase recycling and investment in the Closed Loop Fund, which will provide financing to municipalities and other organizations whose goal is to provide people access to recycling when and where they need it.
"Most consumers want to recycle when they're away from home--there just aren't enough convenient places to do it," said Al Carey, CEO of PepsiCo Americas Beverages. "This is a huge opportunity that has been largely unaddressed until now. The easier we can make it to recycle, the more likely people are to recycle; and by giving consumers the added incentive of helping protect our watersheds, we can make an impact."
Recycle for Nature will provide consumers the chance to directly drive drinking water conservation efforts by recycling more often. For every one-point increase in the U.S. beverage container recycling rate each year, PepsiCo will make an additional donation to The Nature Conservancy with the goal of reaching up to $1 million total each year for five years. The goal is to save and restore one billion gallons of water over five years in rivers that supply water to more than 35 million people across nine states,
Purchase, N.Y.-based PepsiCo generated more than $66 billion in net revenue in 2013, driven by a complementary food and beverage portfolio that includes Frito-Lay, Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola, Quaker and Tropicana. PepsiCo's product portfolio includes a wide range of foods and beverages, including 22 brands that generate more than $1 billion each in estimated annual retail sales.
West Des Moines, Iowa-based Kum & Go LC has more than 420 c-stores in 11 states (Iowa, Arkansas, Colorado, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Wyoming).
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