BEHIND THE BLONDE YEAR 2: SADNESS TO SUNRISES HOTEL’S RECYCLING EFFORT HELPS CORAL REEF

New Initiative Will Reclaim Aluminum Water Bottles

Kirby Myers

is a busy mom, business owner and writer who’s not afraid to say what many of us are thinking.

This past weekend I was sitting on the beach in Fort Lauderdale watching the sunrise while my kids played in the waves, sipping on some lukewarm coffee and flipping through a new book. I told my husband that my two-year anniversary was approaching and he asked what I wanted to do to celebrate. I hadn’t thought about it really, but sitting there that morning, in the stillness, watching the world light up, I was reminded that just a few short (yet very long) years ago, I likely wouldn’t have woken the kids up to experience this moment. And if I had, my head would be aching, my body tired and worst of all my mind anguished over why I continued to let myself down. The shame and guilt mixed with the physical discomfort would have overshadowed something otherwise magical.

“Who could you be if you stopped?”

I’ve written about this before. It was the last lingering question on my mind and on my tongue every night before I finally slipped into bed after drinking and chain smoking for hours alone on my porch. I’m finally finding out.

The first year was survival mode — building boundaries, having breakdowns, feeling great, feeling like shit, questioning everything, beating myself up, forgiving myself, learning, trying, wanting. Wanting. I’ve wanted this life for so long.

That first year felt like a never-ending, rickety old wooden roller coaster that was scary as hell and constantly prompting the question, “Will this thing break?” I just had to believe its bones were strong enough to make it to the other side. The one-year mark was huge; that’s when things started to really shift. Year two has been transformative.

I remember hearing my sister-in-law once say, “We can only try and be better than who we were yesterday.” That stuck with me. I want to be better. I always have. I want to spend every day of the rest of my life being a better version of myself than I was the day before. There’s been a fire inside me since I was a little girl to see how far I could take this life.

So this past Tuesday, when I woke up two years free of alcohol and cigarettes, I decided to finally unbox those paddleboards I bought months ago and head out for sunrise. The stormy skies, however, had different plans, so I unloaded the boards and enjoyed a rainy early morning coffee with my husband. Maybe the universe was reminding me that bad weather happens, but it also passes. And as the skies lit up blue later that day I stared into the sun and acknowledged that I live for the little moments now. Because I see them and I’m present. Because I’ve spent the last two years becoming the person I knew I was always meant to be. The person who shows up — for myself and for others. Because I am a damn warrior. Because I want this life.

And because I’m just getting started.

Proud Source Water, the leader in sustainably bottled and packaged spring water, recently announced the launch of the Infinite Bottle Project at Hyatt Centric Key West.

The initiative will reclaim and recycle aluminum collected on the property and the surrounding Key West community.

With a goal of becoming a true single-use plastic-free resort, Hyatt Centric Key West has joined this project to add to its sustainability efforts. Strategically placed aluminum-specific collection bins, signs and “super sacks” have been placed throughout the property and will be distributed in many places in the neighboring community to assist in the collection process. The resort will donate 100% of the aluminum recycling proceeds from the collection efforts to the local nonprofit Reef Relief to aid in its mission to protect and preserve the Florida Reef, the only living coral barrier reef in North America.

“We have a responsibility as a consumer-packaged goods company to collect what we put out into the world,” said CJ Pennington, president of Proud Source Water, a division of SOURCE Global. “The Infinite Bottle Project is a progressive and innovative program designed to promote true circularity, as aluminum collected at Hyatt Centric Key West and every future partner is infinitely recycled, including some eventually becoming Proud Source Water bottles.”

As one of its first steps in becoming a single-use plastic-free property, Hyatt Centric Key West began serving Proud Source Water in its recyclable aluminum packaging. Through the project and its collaboration with Replenysh, the property can now also track and ensure all aluminum cans and bottles collected are sorted properly so they can be recycled and reused. So far, the effort has collected nearly 400 pounds of aluminum for recycling.

“By providing our guests with Proud Source’s sustainable bottled water, we took a step forward in our mission to create a new, trusted circularity infrastructure in Key West,” says Jessica Cain, general manager of Hyatt Centric Key West.

“Through our partnership with the Infinite Bottle Project, Hyatt will now help recycle thousands of pounds of aluminum each year and further build sustainability throughout the Key West Community.”