Yoplait®, Waste Management and City of Denver encourage better recycling, one cup at a time
Denver Residents Can Now Participate With Nation’s Largest Recycler To Collect And Recycle #5 Plastic Yogurt Cups
DENVER, Colo. (Nov. 9, 2010) – Starting this week, Yoplait® and Waste Management (NYSE: WM) are joining Denver Recycles, the city’s recycling service, to help Denver residents expand recycling. All City and County of Denver residents can now include yogurt cups and #5 plastics in their purple recycling carts. The initiative seeks to help increase recycling rates and raise awareness about the need to collect and recycle more materials.
Denver Councilman and co-chair of the Business, Workforce, and Sustainably Committee, Doug Linkhart, hailed the program, saying, “We’re very pleased that Yoplait and Waste Management have selected Denver for this initiative. They are working hard to help consumers reduce their impact by raising awareness of recycling. I challenge everyone in Denver to take advantage of this program and show America how it can be done. Let’s recycle all the plastic we can so the material can be reused again and again.”
“Yoplait is committed to reducing our impact on the environment. We have made progress by reducing plastic in our packaging and investing in renewable energy, but there’s more to do,” said Zilian Cheuk, Yoplait Sustainability. “Everyone can make a difference and that’s why we’ve partnered with the city and Waste Management to take the next step and make it easier for people in Denver to recycle.”
Starting this week, residents can simply place clean yogurt cups, marked with the recycling #5, in their residential recycling cart. Waste Management and Denver Recycles will collect and deliver the materials to Waste Management’s regional recycling facility for sorting and measurement. From there, #5 plastic from yogurt cups can be repurposed for various products, from toothbrushes to new food packaging to traffic lights.
“Waste Management is committed to recycling solutions for all materials across America,” said Scott Bradley, area vice president for Waste Management. “Denver residents have a true dedication to sustainability so we know that this project can be a success. By working with Yoplait to raise awareness of recycling, we hope to give Denver residents even more opportunities to make a difference in their overall environmental impact.”
The goal of the program is to raise awareness of recycling in Denver. From November 9, through January 1, 2011, Yoplait and Waste Management will evaluate any changes in the #5 recycling rate. Yoplait hopes this pilot will help them understand the opportunity to expand the program nationally. Waste Management and Denver Recycles will continue to collect and recycle #5 plastics as part of Denver area collection.
Cheuk continued, “Yoplait’s vision is to help expand yogurt cup recycling nationally – and we can’t get there without Denver’s help. We all have a great opportunity to show other communities what is possible and hope everyone in Denver will pitch in to recycle every yogurt cup.”
Denver residents can participate by recycling Yoplait yogurt cups and other #5 plastic in their recycling containers if they are customers of Denver Recycles and Waste Management. Additional schools, businesses and other local venues in Denver that receive Denver Recycles service or Waste Management service can also participate.
Customers can also visit any Waste Management recycling facility to drop off their recycling, including #5 plastics.
To learn more about Yoplait’s sustainability efforts, visit Yoplait.com/sustainability.
To learn more about Denver Recycles and their municipal recycling services, visit Denver Recycles online.
To find a public recycling center near you or learn more about recycling services from Waste Management, visit Waste Management’s Recycling Center.
ABOUT DENVER RECYLES
Denver Recycles is a program of Denver Public Works/Solid Waste Management. It’s mission is to provide residential recycling collection services to residents, reduce the volume and toxicity of solid waste disposed, and encourage environmentally responsible purchasing and disposal habits among Denver residents in their homes, at work, and at schools.
ABOUT WASTE MANAGEMENT
Waste Management, based in Houston, Texas, is the leading provider of comprehensive waste management services in North America. Our subsidiaries provide collection, transfer, recycling and resource recovery, and disposal services. We are the largest recycler in North America as well as a leading developer, operator and owner of waste-to-energy and landfill gas-to-energy facilities in the United States. Our customers include residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal customers throughout North America. To learn more visit www.wm.com or www.thinkgreen.com.
ABOUT GENERAL MILLS
One of the world's leading food companies, General Mills operates in more than 100 countries and markets more than 100 consumer brands, including Yoplait, Cheerios, Häagen-Dazs, Nature Valley, Betty Crocker, Pillsbury, Green Giant, Old El Paso, Progresso, Cascadian Farm, Muir Glen, and more. Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, General Mills had fiscal 2010 global net sales of US$16 billion, including the company’s $1.2 billion proportionate share of joint venture net sales.
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