L’Oréal USA Provides Founding Support to The Recycling Partnership’s First Small Town Access Fund, Dedicated to Expanding US Recycling Infrastructure

L’Oréal USA Provides Founding Support to The Recycling Partnership’s First Small Town Access Fund, Dedicated to Expanding US Recycling Infrastructure

The Fund launches today through founding donation from L’Oréal USA, with GlobalGiving and Maybelline New York

NEW YORK, NY – Sept. 20, 2022 – L’Oréal USA is proud to announce its founding support of The Recycling Partnership’s first Small Town Access Fund, which works to deliver new or improved access to recycling programs in small and rural municipalities across the U.S.

The Small Town Access Fund was launched with a founding donation from L’Oréal USA, in partnership with GlobalGiving, with additional support from Maybelline New York brand and the Arconic Foundation. The Fund is estimated to bring new or improved access and education to nearly 45,000 households, which will deliver more than 6 million pounds of new recyclables into the system and out of landfills per year.

In its first year, the Small Town Access Fund will launch 14 projects in nine states: Indiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio and Wisconsin, with several others in the pipeline for 2023 and beyond.

According to The Recycling Partnership’s Paying It Forward report four in 10 single-family residents lack equitable recycling access – equating to more than 40 million people who do not have the same access to recycling service as they have to their trash service. Small and rural communities often face unique challenges when it comes to implementing and maintaining robust recycling programs. Common issues include lack of dedicated recycling staff, geographic challenges, including long distances from homes to Materials Recovery Facilities, and financial limitations due to lower population density and the higher per-household collections costs that can be associated with smaller programs. Additionally, many small communities without curbside recycling systems rely on drop-off locations for recycling, presenting a different set of education and maintenance issues than curbside access programs.

“As the need to build a more sustainable future continues to be an urgent priority, L’Oréal USA, in partnership with GlobalGiving, and Maybelline New York are proud to launch this Fund with The Recycling Partnership to improve recycling programs. The Fund will expand access for communities across the country with populations of less than 50,000, including many communities in which we operate as a business,” said Marissa McGowan, Chief Sustainability Officer for North America at L’Oréal. “This meaningful work is strongly aligned with our sustainability transformation strategy and bold, measurable targets to help solve environmental challenges facing the U.S. and world today.”

Supporting households in communities of all sizes leads to significant impact – an individual household generates an average of 767 pounds of recyclable material per year, and there are more than 18,000 incorporated municipalities in the U.S. with populations under 50,000. The Small Town Access Fund can help alleviate the specific challenges these communities face such as higher per-household collection costs and higher per-cart costs from purchasing equipment in smaller quantities.

“We are thrilled to have a dedicated granting stream to assist smaller and rural communities in their efforts to provide residents with quality recycling access and education,” said Rob Taylor, Senior Director of Grants and Community Development at The Recycling Partnership. “We all have a role to play in the circular economy, and supporting efficient, resilient recycling programs in these communities will make it easier for residents to recycle, support local jobs, and create a valuable supply of recyclable materials to be transformed into new products.”

L’Oréal’s global sustainability transformation program, L’Oréal for the Future, outlines ambitious commitments towards 2030. Included in this worldwide effort is the pursuit of solutions that allow for more recycling and promote the development of the circular economy. By 2025, 100% of plastic packaging across L’Oréal’s global brands will be refillable, reusable, recyclable or compostable. Learn more about L’Oréal for the Future here.