Made to Be Remade awards grants to six recycling organizations

Made to Be Remade Georgia, a nonprofit created by the Georgia Beverage Association and its member companies, has awarded $137,500 in grants to six organizations working to expand recycling across the state. The 2026 grants will fund school recycling education, downtown business collection and upgrades at community recycling facilities. The program, which began as an initiative in 2025, aims to keep bottles and cans out of landfills and off waterways, roadsides and public spaces, according to a release from the nonprofit. Made to Be Remade helps communities make recycling more convenient, teach residents what belongs in the bin and recover materials that might otherwise become waste or litter. The Keep Georgia Beautiful Foundation, its official sustainability partner, carries out the work through its network of about 70 local affiliates. “One of the most exciting things about this campaign is seeing how communities throughout Georgia are finding their own ways to make recycling work,” said Kevin Perry, president of the Georgia Beverage Association, in the release. “These six organizations are bringing practical solutions to the places people live, learn and work, helping turn more used bottles and cans into new materials instead of sending them to landfills.” The 2026 grant recipients are: Keep North Fulton Beautiful, $25,000, for a baler at the Sandy Springs Recycling Center to increase processing capacity for plastic bottles and aluminum cans. Keep Columbus Beautiful Commission, $25,000, for Crush It & Clean It Columbus, a campaign that combines neighborhood cleanups, recycling drives, and community walks to reduce litter and encourage physical activity. Keep Douglasville Beautiful, $12,500, for a hands-on school recycling program with classroom competitions and collection activities, expected to reach 1,000 to 1,200 students. Keep Hall Beautiful, $25,000, to expand its Green Schools Initiative with recycling stations, educational materials and activities designed to reach more than 9,700 students and educators. Keep Pickens Beautiful, $25,000, for Recycle Main Street, a new collection station for downtown Jasper businesses, in partnership with the city of Jasper and the Pickens County Recycling Center. Houston County Association for Exceptional Citizens, $25,000, for equipment and infrastructure to improve operations at its Happy Hour Recycling Center, which also provides job training for adults with disabilities. These latest investments build on the work of five inaugural grant recipients in 2025, whose projects demonstrate the many ways communities can make recycling easier and more accessible. Keep Macon-Bibb Beautiful’s outreach campaign reached an estimated 26,000 residents through school visits, neighborhood activities, and more than 15,000 educational mailers. A three-school pilot led by the Athens-Clarke County Solid Waste Department introduced new collection bins, clearer signs, and staff training, increasing recycling diversion by nearly 25% at Cedar Shoals High School. And in Warner Robins, where municipal curbside recycling isn’t available, the Houston County Association for Exceptional Citizens upgraded its recycling center to accept more types of plastics, giving residents more ways to keep those materials out of landfills. Other recipients are finding creative ways to address different recycling challenges. Keep Carroll Beautiful purchased three collection trailers designed to bring aluminum can recycling closer to residents and make drop-offs more convenient.