Keep Roswell Beautiful Wins Grant To Install Recycling Bins at City Parks

Patch Staff Report

Keep Roswell Beautiful has been awarded a Dr. Pepper-Snapple Group/Keep America Beautiful Park Recycling Bin Grant to place 24 permanent recycling bins in some of the city's most highly utilized parks.

These bins will be available throughout the year to increase the number of recycling opportunities throughout the city’s park system, which in turn should reduce waste, beautify the parks and empower "citizens to continue their commitment to responsible and sustainable lifestyles," the city said in a press release. 

On Wednesday, June 18, Keep Roswell Beautiful will host a Can Opening at 2:30 p.m. near the playground at Roswell Area Park to officially launch the new recycling bin initiative. 

The public is invited to join Mayor Jere Wood and members of the Roswell City Council as they debut the new bins and celebrate new recycling opportunities for residents, whose need for additional recycling resources has increased as their passion for outdoor recreation has grown. 

“Access and convenience are two of the biggest obstacles to recycling,” said Janet Liberman, executive director of Keep Roswell Beautiful and environmental programs manager for the city of Roswell. “By making these recycling bins available in our parks, Keep America Beautiful and the Dr. Pepper-Snapple Group will help our community increase on-the-go recycling.” 

The bins—into which aluminum cans and glass and plastic bottles can be deposited—are being placed throughout eight of the city’s highest trafficked parks: Roswell Area Park, East Roswell Park, Waller Park Extension, Azalea Park, Riverside Park, Gerard Landing, Don White Park and Hembree Park.

Roswell currently has recycling bins located inside its Recreation and Parks’ community buildings, such as gymnasiums and office buildings. However, these bins do not accommodate the recycling needs of visitors who come to the parks for outdoor events, walking/running trails, or just daily enjoyment. 

Visitors have access to vending or concession options or often bring beverages from home, but aren’t likely to walk into the buildings to recycle their bottles or cans. Liberman says the cost of outdoor bins is significant, and the collapsible bins that are available for special events are not durable enough for permanent use. 

The award-winning Roswell Recycling Center — which recycled more than 169 tons of beverage containers last year— will weigh, sort, and process the beverage containers to provide measurable results that can be reported back to Roswell citizens to further emphasize benefits of recycling. 

This grant is funded through a partnership between Keep America Beautiful and the Dr. Pepper Snapple Group to increase recycling in city, regional and state public parks across the country and to underscore the shared responsibility that consumers, companies and communities have in environmental sustainability. 

For more information about Keep Roswell Beautiful, visit keeproswellbeautiful.org, and for more information about Roswell Recreation and Parks, visit www.roswellgov.com/parks.