Courtesy of Realcycle

Realcycle is saving New Orleans by picking up one bottle at a time.

Launched in January of 2022, theRealcycle group is an organization who are trying to restore confidence in and bring recycling back to New Orleans, according to organization founder Ben Bagwill.

Bagwill has lived in New Orleans for close to three decades, and was even present for the disaster and aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. He witnessed the massive amounts of trash, equating them to mountains.

“It really made me think about how we handle our waste,” Bagwill stated.

It was witnessing these events and the disruption to recycling worldwide in 2016 that inspired him to begin his journey with recycling, according to Bagwill. He sees Realcycle as a renaissance of the recycling industry, meant to be transparent and teach people a new worldview on how they see waste.

“It’s a culture of respecting the earth, respecting each other and through that, because we really are the earth, then we get to connect with the earth and each other,” Bagwill said.

Bagwill uses Realcycle to try and spread this message along with connecting consumers with the resources they consume. In their mission, Realcycle has begun work with twelve companies, one school, and five festivals. The biggest contributors are Hilton hotels, Whole Foods, and Jazz Fest, according to Bagwill. He hopes to be the sustainability coordinator for next year’s Jazz Fest and is currently negotiating for the role.

They also offer community drop-offs at farmers markets, work with volunteer groups, and handle waste and recycling at events like Bayou Boogaloo and Beignet Fest, according to Bagwill.

Realcycle is planning on expanding their operation in the future, with their goals including “[having] city-wide composting, [holding] water when it rains, [opening] farms in our parks, [teaching] young people about food/resources & [being] more connected to the earth,” according to Bagwill.

“We have the vision, the passion, and the mission,” Bagwill stated. “I just want to make New Orleans the beautiful place we all know is possible. We think this is the catalyst to that.”