FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 25, 1999
For Further Information
Tom Padia or Bruce Goddard
Alameda County Recycling Board
[San Leandro, California]
(510) 614-1699
AGENCY ENDORSES CONSUMER ACTION AGAINST
COCA COLA TARGETS NON-RECYCLED PLASTIC
BOTTLES
The Alameda County Source Reduction and
Recycling Board has endorsed the
consumer action against Coca-Cola put
forward by the Georgia-based GrassRoots
Recycling Network. The Board has joined
with citizen advocacy groups and
environmental organizations throughout
the country including the Sierra Club
California Waste Committee, the
Institute for Local Self-Reliance, the
Earth Island Institute, and the
California Resource Recovery Association
to urge Coke to utilize recycled content
materials in polyethylene terephthalate
(PET) soda bottles.
The goal of the consumer action campaign
is to reverse the alarming decline in
the recycling rate for plastic bottles -
which are replacing recyclable glass and
aluminum containers at a rapid rate.
A fact sheet on the Coca-Cola campaign,
prepared by the GrassRoots Recycling
Network is attached, along with a copy
of the resolution adopted by the
Recycling Board.
The Recycling Board was created by the
voters of Alameda County in 1990 and
operates as a specialized arm of the
Alameda County Waste Management
Authority. It is funded through a $6
per ton landfill disposal fee at the
Altamont and Vasco Road landfills.
Board members are composed of elected
public officials, selected by the Waste
Management Authority, and professional
experts in specified areas of waste
reduction, selected by the Alameda
County Board of Supervisors.
For more information about the Coca-Cola
consumer action, interested parties may
contact Bill Sheehan at (706) 613-7121,
or visit the GrassRoots Recycling
Network website at www.grrn.org.
Further information is also available
through the Recycling Board website at
www.stopwaste.org.
[The resolution passed by the Alameda Board
can be viewed on the Web at www.grrn.org]