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Events scheduled to address recycling challenges

At the 2016 Brand Leaders Solution Summit, strategies will be discussed to address mass closures of U.S. recycling plants, sustainable packaging challenges, and waste in oceans.

Pw 177483 Solution Summit Invite

On the heels of the Paris climate talks in November 2015 and in response to news about the recent mass closures of recycling centers across the country, nonprofit organization Recycle Across America (RAA) and Participant Media’s television network, Pivot, are hosting two solution-focused events with U.S. brand leaders and celebrities on April 21, 2016.

The morning Brand Leaders Solution Summit is co-hosted by RAA and Pivot, in conjunction with Whole Foods Market, Kiehl’s Since 1851, TerraCycle, and 1% for the Planet. At the summit, leading brands and consumer packaged goods companies are convening to discuss solving barriers to sustainable packaging, stakeholder pressures regarding sustainability, ineffective recycling programs, and increased waste entering oceans.

At the summit, information will be shared about the current faltering condition of the U.S. recycling industry and its economic and environmental impact on businesses, manufacturers, and oceans. RAA and partners will present the standardized labeling solution for recycling bins, which is being adopted by leading brands, including Bank of America, NBC Universal, Whole Foods Market, and Hallmark, as well as counties, airports, and thousands of schools nationwide. The benefits of the standardized labels—including making recycling programs effective and financially beneficial for companies—will be discussed, in addition to the benefits for CPG companies and closed-loop manufacturing.

RAA will also announce the first state in the U.S. to begin displaying the standardized labels on recycling bins throughout the state, including at residences, schools, and businesses making it easier for people to begin to recycle right, thereby significantly reducing the amount of costly garbage that is historically thrown in recycling bins each day as a result of inconsistent and often ineffective labeling.

The summit will be followed by an evening event titled Let’s Pose for Progress, held at the MILK Studios in Hollywood.The party will feature the world’s first live-stream photo shoot broadcast in real-time and will result in millions of digital PSA spots on Lamar Advertising Company billboards nationwide. Famed celebrity photographer Timothy White is donating his services to photograph the celebrities participating in the Let’s recycle right! PSA campaign. Celebrities already involved in the PSA campaign include Kristen Bell, Anthony Mackie, Angie Harmon, Alanis Morissette, Bill Maher, and many others.

“We are proud of the brand and entertainment leaders that are advancing this critical solution to help recycling begin to thrive in the U.S., at a time when it needs it the most,” says Mitch Hedlund, Executive Director of RAA. “Recycling is the number-one thing society can do to help the environment, the economy, and sustainable manufacturing as well as protect the oceans, but it requires people to recycle right.”

“At 1% for the Planet, we believe we can do more good together than we can alone. The Solutions Summit is a powerful opportunity for leading brands to come together and create a new vision and practice for recycling,” says Kate Williams, CEO of 1% for the Planet.

The impact of standardized labels on recycling bins:

To date there are more than 1 million standardized labels displayed on recycling bins throughout the U.S. According to RAA, this solution has proven to increase recycling levels between 50% to 100%, while significantly reducing the amount of garbage that typically contaminates the recycling process and drives up the cost of processing, leading to many recycling plants closing in the last few months. In an independent national focus group testing the standardized labels against a multitude of other recycling labels, the standardized labels outperformed the others, in recycling levels, quality of materials collected, less contamination, and greater overall appeal.

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