Posted on Mar 02, 2026 | News,Press Releases
Keep Louisiana Beautiful, Coca-Cola, and Osprey Initiative Expand Recycling in 19 Parishes During Love the Boot Week
BATON ROUGE, La. – During Love the Boot Week, April 18–26, 2026, Coca-Cola is partnering with Keep Louisiana Beautiful (KLB) to support the recycling of plastic bottles and aluminum cans at litter cleanup events across 19 parishes. Facilitated by Osprey Initiative, the effort will divert thousands of bottles and cans from landfills and give collected materials a second life through recycling.
Love the Boot Week is Louisiana’s largest litter removal and community beautification effort. Celebrated during Earth Month, this year’s event also marks America’s 250th birthday, encouraging Louisianans in all 64 parishes to show their pride in their communities and their country by picking up 250 pieces of litter. When registering at LoveTheBoot.org, events in eligible parishes may opt in to participate in recycling efforts.
“We are grateful to Coca-Cola for continuing to invest in recycling during Love the Boot Week and helping us expand this effort across Louisiana,” said Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser. “Because of their support, thousands of bottles and cans collected by volunteers will be recycled instead of landfilled. If your cleanup is in one of the 19 participating parishes, I encourage you to take part in this opportunity. As we celebrate America’s 250th birthday, let’s work together to keep Louisiana beautiful and leave our communities better than we found them.”
“Love the Boot Week shows what’s possible when communities come together with a shared commitment to stewardship,” said Colin Schriver, Vice President of Franchise Leadership at The Coca-Cola Company. “By making recycling accessible at cleanup events across Louisiana, we’re helping ensure that bottles and cans collected during these efforts have the chance at another life instead of becoming waste. We’re proud to support a program that helps turn volunteer action into positive environmental impact.”
With support from Coca-Cola, Osprey Initiative will facilitate recycling at cleanup events in the following parishes: Acadia, Ascension, Calcasieu, East Baton Rouge, Jefferson, Jefferson Davis, Lafayette, Livingston, Orleans, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. James, St. John, St. Martin, St. Tammany, and Tangipahoa. In Bossier, Ouachita, and Rapides parishes, a recycling drop-off pod will be available to collect #1 plastic bottles and aluminum cans gathered during cleanups.
During Love the Boot Week 2025, 26,935 volunteers contributed 81,852 hours across 1,408 events in all 64 parishes, removing 514 tons of litter statewide. Volunteers also diverted 16,503 aluminum cans and plastic bottles through recycling efforts. Beyond litter removal, participants planted 1,204 trees and 3,672 plants and refurbished 477 community gardens. Organizers anticipate an even greater impact in 2026.
Osprey Initiative will host informational webinars to guide event organizers through the recycling process. Recycling bags will be shipped to participating events, and Osprey Initiative will collect, sort, and deliver the materials to recycling facilities.
“When items are properly recycled, they don’t end up littering our environment or entering our landfills,” said Susan Russell, KLB Executive Director. “Not only does recycling reduce waste, but it also requires less energy to manufacture products using recovered materials rather than virgin resources. We are grateful to Coca-Cola for funding recycling at Love the Boot Week events so that the bottles and cans collected can be repurposed rather than landfilled.”
Everyone in every parish is invited to register a cleanup or beautification event and/or volunteer for Love the Boot Week at LoveTheBoot.org.
