MIDLAND, Mich.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Dow Chemical Company is again teaming up with national nonprofit and longstanding partner Keep America Beautiful to award a total of $100,000 in grants for organizations to establish Hefty® EnergyBag™ programs in their communities. The Hefty® EnergyBag™ program offers an innovative approach to diverting plastics that cannot be recycled, such as chip bags and juice pouches, from landfills and converting the materials into valuable energy resources.
The 2018 grant program builds upon the success of last year, when Dow awarded two $50,000 grants to organizations in Cobb County, Georgia (Keep Cobb Beautiful Inc.) and the City of Boise, Idaho to establish the program in their respective communities. This year, Dow will offer a total of $100,000 in grants to multiple communities across the nation.
“We’re looking forward to working with Keep America Beautiful again to deliver the 2018 Hefty® EnergyBag™ grant program,” said Jon Pyper, associate director of sustainability & advocacy for Dow. “By collaborating with organizations and communities nationwide, we are increasing plastics recovery, reducing the amount of waste going into landfills and advancing the vision of a circular economy.”
The grant application is open to municipalities, nonprofits, materials recovery facilities and other qualifying organizations through June 15, 2018. Dow will provide grant recipients with the blueprint to develop successful Hefty® EnergyBag™ programs, and will facilitate planning and implementation. Recipients will manage their local programs and solicit involvement from key community stakeholders.
“The Hefty® EnergyBag™ grant program builds on our long-standing relationship with Dow to find innovative ways to divert waste from landfills and offer communities an option for those plastics that cannot currently be recycled,” said Helen Lowman, president and CEO of Keep America Beautiful. “We look forward to providing information to communities who believe the program may suit their community’s waste management strategy and goals.”
At the intersection of innovation, sustainability and citizenship, Dow’s long-standing relationship with Keep America Beautiful is built on more than 10 years of collaboration through the Great American Cleanup, the largest community improvement program in the U.S., which provides an opportunity to engage employees, customers and communities for impact.
The Hefty® EnergyBag™ grant program demonstrates Dow’s commitment to advancing a circular economy as part of its 2025 Sustainability Goals. As of February 2018, Hefty® EnergyBag™ curbside and non-curbside programs – which began with a 2014 EnergyBag™ Pilot in Citrus Heights, California – have collected over 44,500 orange bags and diverted more than 24 tons of plastics from landfills, the equivalent of approximately 19 million snack-sized chip bags or 117 barrels of diesel fuel.
To apply for the Hefty® EnergyBag™ grant, visit www.kab.org/hefty-energy-bag-program. To learn more about the Hefty® EnergyBag™ program, visit www.heftyenergybag.com.
About Dow Packaging and Specialty Plastics
Dow Packaging and Specialty Plastics, a business unit of DowDuPont’s Materials Science division, combines core strengths of R&D, worldwide reach, broad product lines and industry expertise to deliver high performing technologies for end use markets in food packaging, personal hygiene, infrastructure, consumer goods and transportation . Dow Packaging and Specialty Plastics is one of the world’s largest producers of polyethylene resins, specialty resins and adhesives and a leading innovator and collaborator across the value chain on sustainable application development and circular economy life-cycle design for plastics.
About The Dow Chemical Company
The Dow Chemical Company (Dow) combines science and technology knowledge to develop premier materials science solutions that are essential to human progress. Dow has one of the strongest and broadest toolkits in the industry, with robust technology, asset integration, scale and competitive capabilities that enable it to address complex global issues. Dow’s market-driven, industry-leading portfolio of advanced materials, industrial intermediates and plastics businesses deliver a broad range of differentiated technology-based products and solutions for customers in high-growth markets such as packaging, infrastructure and consumer care. Dow is a subsidiary of DowDuPont (NYSE: DWDP), a holding company comprised of Dow and DuPont with the intent to form three strong, independent, publicly traded companies in agriculture, materials science and specialty sectors. More information can be found at www.dow.com.
About Keep America Beautiful
Keep America Beautiful, the nation’s iconic community improvement nonprofit organization, inspires and educates people to take action every day to improve and beautify their community environment. Celebrating its 65th Anniversary in 2018, Keep America Beautiful strives to End Littering, Improve Recycling and Beautify America’s Communities. We believe everyone has a right to live in a clean, green and beautiful community, and shares a responsibility to contribute to that vision. Behavior change – steeped in education, research and behavioral science – is the cornerstone of Keep America Beautiful. We empower generations of community stewards with volunteer programs, hands-on experiences, curricula, practical advice and other resources to deliver measurable environmental, economic and social benefits. The organization is driven by more than 600 state and local affiliates, millions of volunteers, and the support of corporate partners, social and civic service organizations, academia, municipalities and government officials. Join us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube. Donate and take action at kab.org.
About Reynolds Consumer Products
Reynolds Consumer Products is a leading provider of quality household essentials that have been trusted for generations. Our Reynolds® and Hefty® brand products help with preparation, cooking, cleanup, and storage. The Hefty® brand is best known for strong, dependable waste bags, available in the U.S. at mass merchants, grocers, and other retail stores nationwide. For more information, visit Hefty.com.
