The aluminum beverage can recycling partnership kicked off in Arkansas and brings five circularity sites to four states with cash payouts for participants.

Blytheville, Arkansas Mayor Melisa Logan with the city’s first responders and other officials at the Cans for Cash Circularity Center. Photo Credit: Replenysh

BLYTHEVILLE, AR — November 15 — Every Can Counts U.S. and Replenysh announced today the launch of a new community-driven recycling program to increase recovery of aluminum beverage cans.

The Cans for Cash program, which launched in Blytheville, Arkansas, will soon add four more Circularity Centers in Florida, Illinois, and Mississippi. Cans for Cash targets communities near major waterways with limited or no recycling access. The initiative aims to boost recycling, reduce litter and landfill waste, and enhance local economies with direct cash payouts for participants who recycle empty aluminum beverage cans.

“This is an impact-driven program that will increase recycling and access points near major American waterways. This partnership will also make significant investments within local communities that lack curbside recycling,” said Scott Breen, Senior Vice President of Sustainability at Can Manufacturers Institute, the trade association behind the Every Can Counts U.S. chapter. “Our innovative model leverages the power of technology, community engagement, and the high market value of used aluminum beverage cans to drive impact, including direct payouts for the program’s participants.”

Cans for Cash launched on America Recycles Day as a way to demonstrate how aluminum beverage cans help sustain the U.S. recycling system and promote the circular economy in action. Residents in Blytheville who drop off empty aluminum beverage cans at the Circularity Center will receive a digital payment of $0.30 per pound for cans. Rates will vary by community and subject to changes based on the market value of scrap aluminum. Additional revenue from the scrap value will go to the city to support local community efforts. 

“The Cans for Cash program is a self-sustaining recycling model and will help fund future recycling efforts. The city of Blytheville is honored to work with Replenysh and Every Can Counts U.S. on this critical circularity project,” said Blytheville Mayor Melisa Logan. “Activating our recycling potential, igniting a circular economy, and improving recycling behavior has been a goal of our city for years. This partnership gives our city a strategy that we hope produces big recycling gains for every resident in our community. Our new Cans for Cash Circularity Center will increase consumer awareness and incentivize a recycling model that can be easily replicated in communities across America.”

Replenysh, the circularity platform that implemented the program, will manage Blytheville’s ongoing technology and network operations and track the results of the Cans for Cash Circularity Center using an impact report.

“Many communities today are underserved by recycling and are looking for a solution they can trust. We are excited to be working with Every Can Counts U.S. as the circularity partner to provide much-needed recycling infrastructure to cities and their residents,” said Mark Armen, Founder and CEO at Replenysh. “The City of Blytheville can now leverage our tools and network to monetize materials and drive value to residents in a new way. As we expand these Cans for Cash Circularity Centers to additional states, we also will capture more high-quality feedstock for U.S. industry.”

Globally, aluminum recycling is 95% less carbon intensive than primary aluminum production. In addition to empty aluminum beverage cans, community members can bring PET #1 plastic bottles for recycling, however, payment will only be provided for recycled aluminum.

The Cans for Cash Circularity Center, located at 400 Elm St, Blytheville, AR 72315, is open Monday-Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. (CST) with hours subject to change based on operations and volume of collections. To make sure materials are accepted for recycling, participants must:

• Clean, empty, and dry all cans, bottles, and containers. There is no need to remove labels, tabs, or bottle caps. If containers contain fluids, liquid weight will be deducted from the weighted total.
• Separate used aluminum beverage cans from PET #1 plastic bottles. Only used aluminum beverage cans will receive digital payouts.

Blytheville residents who drop off used aluminum beverage cans will receive payment from the Cans for Cash Circularity Center after being weighed on-site. A digital receipt will be emailed to each participant detailing the total amount, with the ability to receive the money in several ways including digital gift card, PayPal, or direct deposit to a bank account. The process eliminates the handling of cash and makes for a safe, secure, and efficient processing experience.

Additional media kit information and photos of the Blytheville Cans for Cash Circularity Center can be downloaded here.

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Media Contact: Tim Ebner, Can Manufacturers Institute (CMI), director of communications and marketing: tebner@cancentral.com 

Phoebe Yu, Replenysh, head of marketing: phoebe@replenysh.com 

Every Can Counts U.S. is a partnership between aluminum beverage can manufacturers and aluminum suppliers. We’re passionate about the infinite recyclability of aluminum in beverage cans, and our mission is to inspire people to do the right thing with their empty cans by recycling them. We achieve this by communicating the benefits of recycling beverage cans and improving and promoting “on the go” can recycling. Every Can Counts began life in the United Kingdom in 2009, and now has a presence in 21 countries across Europe, Brazil, United Arab Emirates, and the United States. The Can Manufacturers Institute started the Every Can U.S. Chapter in 2024. To learn more about the importance of recycling aluminum beverage cans, and how you can engage with the efforts of Every Can Counts U.S., visit: https://everycancounts.us or follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

The Can Manufacturers Institute (CMI) is the national trade association of the metal can manufacturing industry and its suppliers in the United States. The can industry accounts for the annual domestic production of approximately 135 billion food, beverage, aerosol and general line cans; employs more than 28,000 people with plants in 33 states, Puerto Rico and American Samoa; and generates about $15.7 billion in direct economic activity.

Replenysh powers end-to-end material recovery from collection to destination. Our award-winning technology and nationwide network enable brands, commercial businesses, communities, and industry to recover and reuse their recyclable materials with full traceability, making it easy and cost-effective to take action, make rapid impact, and achieve true circularity. Communities today want trustworthy, impactful solutions that are economically self-sustaining; Replenysh’s solution creates new infrastructure that transforms traditionally discarded materials into valuable assets, not only supporting circularity but also making it profitable for communities to turn waste into resources.