Turning Used Beverage Containers Into New Resources

Alberta’s non-refillable beverage container collection system operator, ABCRC, is committed to giving used beverage containers of all types a second life. You likely recycle regularly, but have you ever stopped to wonder what can be made from recycled plastic bottles? Often, they are turned back into beverage containers, but it’s possible to use the material in shoes or even furniture. Read on to learn more about how beverage containers can become valued resources.

The three tiers of beverage container recycling

ABCRC makes sure that Alberta’s beverage containers are sent to markets that recycle or repurpose as much material from them as possible. The goal is to keep products and materials in use for as long as possible. Container materials are categorized into tiers of recycling.

Tier 1: Bottle to bottle

There is little to no waste in converting a used beverage container into a brand new beverage container. Aluminum and clear plastic bottles fall into this category.

Tier 2: Bottle to product

A beverage container is mechanically recycled into another product, such as non-food grade containers and other useful products. Plastic caps and coloured plastics fall into this category.  Glass bottles can be crushed and used in fiberglass insulation, milk cartons can be shredded and turned into toilet paper and tissues, and Tetra Brik containers, like juice boxes, can be made into drywall or roofing tiles.

Tier 3: Advanced recycling

The chemical structure of some beverage containers, like juice pouches and the inner bladders from bag-in-box drinks, is broken down to produce substances that are used as raw materials (such as resins) for the manufacturing of other products. The remaining non-recyclable material from containers in this category are used as coal-alternative fuel sources (waste-to-energy).

Endlessly resourceful

ABCRC is always looking for new ways to ensure that the resources found in used beverage containers are kept in use for as long as possible. Advancements and improvements are constantly being made, and ABCRC is dedicated to finding new ways to recycle more materials, more effectively.