Heineken joins in US recycling initiative

United States – Brewer Heineken USA has joined the Recycling Partnership, a US national non-profit programme to improve kerbside residential recycling. Heineken is the first alcoholic drink company to join the partnership and, as a major user of glass, supports the improvement of glass recycling rates in the USA.

According to Heineken’s corporate social responsibility manager Lianne Visser, recycling is ‘a key point of emphasis’ within the firm’s overall sustainability strategy. ‘We wanted to do something on recycling in the US,’ she explains. ‘We are experts in brewing, but not the experts in recycling. I think the strength of the Recycling Partnership is the simplicity.’

Heineken’s Brewing a Better World programme has a global focus on promoting sustainability, looking at such issues as carbon dioxide emission reduction, community partnerships and sustainable sourcing. To date, the Recycling Partnership’s work has reached 71 communities, which represent over 1.2 million households.

It is actively helping boost diversion rates in select communities across the country. The group, formerly called the Curbside Value Partnership, intends to broaden its reach in the coming months and years.