Canadian Beverage Association members work year-round to reduce the industry’s environmental footprint. We are proud to have achieved a 72% recovery rate for beverage containers in Canada and a recycling rate of over 97% for all materials in production facilities.
Today, on Earth Day, we celebrate the highly successful initiatives supported by industry across the country that continue to reduce the number of beverage containers entering the waste stream. Here are just a few examples:
Recycle Everywhere – Manitoba
Created by the non-profit Canadian Beverage Container Recycling Association (CBCRA), Recycle Everywhere is North America’s first permanent province-wide away-from-home beverage container recycling program. In its first four years, Recycle Everywhere was able to raise Manitoba’s beverage container recovery rate by 22%.
Return-It – British Columbia
In 1994 Encorp Pacific and the Return-It program were launched with the goal of increasing the recovery of beverage containers in British Columbia. Since then, the program has grown into one of the most efficient recycling programs in the country with a recovery rate of 84% for aluminum cans and 75% for plastic bottles.
Love to Recycle – Alberta
Love to Recycle is an initiative created by the Alberta Beverage Container Recycling Corporation (ABCRC) that helps individuals and businesses maintain a beverage container recycling program that suits their needs. They provide information on pick-up services and depot locations, and suggest recycling partnerships that facilitate stress-free beverage container recycling.
We’re proud of the strides our industry has made in waste diversion, but we know that it’s important for even more of our 100% recyclable containers find their way to recycling facilities. By doing this, we ensure the availability of recycled materials for industries that need them, help support green jobs across Canada, and do our part to strengthen the circular economy.