Dr Pepper Snapple Group and Keep America Beautiful Bring Recycling to Platteville’s Legion Field and the Aquatic Center

Platteville, WI – Residents visiting Legion Field and the Platteville Aquatic Center will have easy access to recycling thanks to a significant grant made possible by Dr Pepper Snapple Group (NYSE: DPS) in collaboration with Keep America Beautiful.  The Dr Pepper Snapple Group/Keep America Beautiful Park Recycling Bin Grant Program will provide 30 new recycling bins, making recycling more accessible for everyone  enjoying the parks.  The Platteville Main Street Program applied for the grant and is one of 42 recipients nation-wide.

Outdoor activity comes alive in the warm months in Platteville.  The City Parks and Recreation Department does a wonderful job organizing sports, craft, recreation, and learning activities for people of all ages.  Those activities bring people daily to the city’s public spaces.  “With our recycling program at Dairy Days for the past two years, we have shown that the public is ready to do their part in recycling.  And, with the bins we have received from this grant, we can equip our parks with permanent, attractive recycling containers,” remarked Gary Munson, Main Street Program Sustainability Committee Chair.  “The 30 recycling bins that we received through this grant will be the beginning of a city-wide effort  to place recycling containers in all the parks in Platteville.”

Now in its fourth year, the public park recycling grant program has awarded more than 3,400 recycling bins to Keep America Beautiful affiliates, local governments and other community organizations across 38 states to expand the availability of recycling. This investment in recycling infrastructure has improved recycling accessibility and convenience in a variety of park settings, including neighborhood and larger regional parks, beaches, athletic fields and walking trails. 

“We are very pleased with the momentum that continues to build through our ongoing work with Keep America Beautiful,” said Vicki Draughn, vice president of corporate affairs for Dr Pepper Snapple Group. “As communities continue to improve their infrastructure to support recycling at home and at work, this program helps address a persistent challenge, which is improving recycling opportunities for people on-the-go.”

The lack of away-from-home recycling opportunities is reflected in a recent national survey Keep America Beautiful conducted addressing which locations people normally recycle. While more than 90 percent of people indicated it was not a challenge to recycle at home, over 55 percent found it difficult to recycle in public places such as parks. Additional research conducted by Keep America Beautiful indicated only 12 percent of surveyed public locations had recycling infrastructure in place to recover the containers. The Dr Pepper Snapple Group/Keep America Beautiful Park Recycling Bin Grant Program is designed to address the dual obstacles of overcoming lack of recycling convenience.

“Too many public parks and other public spaces lack recycling bins that are within reach,” said Brenda Pulley, senior vice president/recycling, Keep America Beautiful. “Our partnership with Dr Pepper Snapple Group has placed bins in hundreds of parks across the U.S., in the process, giving hundreds of thousands of people convenient access to new recycling opportunities.”

In addition to improving recycling opportunities, the grant program will make additional funds available to Keep America Beautiful community-based affiliates or other grant recipients who commit to conducting a Litter Index in conjunction with the grant to help study the effects of the recycling bins on reducing litter in the immediate areas of the bins.

About Keep America Beautiful
At Keep America Beautiful, we want to ensure that beauty is our lasting signature. A leading national nonprofit, Keep America Beautiful inspires and educates people to take action every day to improve and beautify their community environment. We envision a country where every community is a clean, green, and beautiful place to live. Established in 1953, Keep America Beautiful provides the expertise, programs and resources to help people end littering, improve recycling, and beautify America’s communities. The organization is driven by the work and passion of more than 600 community-based Keep America Beautiful affiliates, millions of volunteers, and the support of corporate partners, municipalities, elected officials, and individuals. To learn how you can donate or take action, visit kab.org. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram, like us on Facebook, or view us on YouTube.

About Dr Pepper Snapple Group
Dr Pepper Snapple Group (NYSE: DPS) is a leading producer of flavored beverages in North America and the Caribbean. Our success is fueled by more than 50 brands that are synonymous with refreshment, fun and flavor. We have six of the top 10 non-cola soft drinks, and 13 of our 14 leading brands are No. 1 or No. 2 in their flavor categories. In addition to our flagship Dr Pepper and Snapple brands, our portfolio includes 7UP, A&W, Canada Dry, Clamato, Crush, Hawaiian Punch, Mott's, Mr & Mrs T mixers, Peñafiel, Rose's, Schweppes, Squirt and Sunkist soda. To learn more about our iconic brands and Plano, Texas-based company, please visit DrPepperSnapple.com. For our latest news and updates, follow us at Facebook.com/DrPepperSnapple or Twitter.com/DrPepperSnapple. For more information on DPS's philanthropic efforts and sustainability goals, visit www.dpsgsustainability.com.