The BEAR Multi-Stakeholder Report on Beverage Container Recycling

The BEAR Multi-Stakeholder Report on Beverage Container Recycling


In 2000, a group of companies, government agencies, and environmental organizations interested in bottle and can recycling convened to research and produce a report on comparative beverage container recycling programs in the United States. Operating under the name Businesses and Environmentalists Allied for Recycling (BEAR), they hired a team of consultants to undertake an objective analysis of the state of U.S. beverage container recycling, and of the costs and success rates of various recycling systems. They also facilitated discussions among the diverse stakeholders over a 2 year period.

The result was the report, “Understanding Beverage Container Recovery: A Value Chain Assessment Prepared for the Multi-Stakeholder Recovery Project (MSRP), Stage 1.” Businesses and Environmentalists Allied for Recycling (BEAR), a Project of Global Green USA, January 16, 2002.

(Stage 2 of the MSRP, an action plan aimed at increasing recycling rates, never materialized due to the failure of the group to reach consensus.)

Among the report’s findings was that in 1999, a combination of recycling methods operating in the nation’s 10 deposits states recycled 490 containers per capita, while the nation's 40 non-deposit states (relying on curbsides and drop-offs) recycled 191 containers per capita.

Use the links below to download the BEAR report, and to read CRI and others’ commentary on it.

Read the BEAR Report:

Statements and Releases on the BEAR Report:

 

 

Popular Links

  • Publications
  • CRI Memberships
  • Data Archive

New beverage container deposit program bills. Expansion and repeal proposals. Sales, redemption rate and waste trends. Refillable bottle infrastructure. Extended producer responsibility.

CRI covers them all – and more – as the leading source of original research, objective analysis and responsible advocacy on the recycling of beverage containers.

Get the latest insights on our Publications and Letters and Briefings pages. Also visit our California Crisis page for details on the extensive shortcomings of the state’s beverage container deposit program – and ways to help fix them.

Plus, sign up for our Weekly Headlines e-newsletter for the latest beverage container deposit and recycling industry news, and check back for new information as we continue working to make North America a global model for the collection and quality recycling of packaging materials.

CRI offers a variety of membership and partnership options that provide a wide range of benefits, including complimentary registration to CRI webinars, technical assistance and more.

Review the options on our Memberships & Partnerships page and join us!

Find a wealth of data on metrics such as recycling rates, waste and sales for all beverage container types on CRI’s Data Archive page. Charts and graphs present key information in a user-friendly way.

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This counter represents the number of beverage cans and bottles that have been landfilled, littered and incinerated in the US so far this year
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