Alberta leads the way in container recycling

By Al Beeber - Lethbridge Herald on April 4, 2025.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDabeeber@lethbridgeherald.com

Albertans recycle more containers than residents of any other province.

Last year, residents of this province returned more than two billion containers including cans and bottles for recycling.

That amounts to 85 per cent of all non-refillable beverage containers, higher than the national average of 76 per cent.

After losing its recycling king crown to Prince Edward Island, Alberta reigned supreme again in 2024, edging Saskatchewan which had an 84 per cent return rate and B.C. which had a rate of 83 per cent. Ontario followed at 73 per cent and Quebec was next at 68 per cent.

Alberta has also risen in North American rankings, finishing second in 2024 (and 2022), trailing only the American state of Oregon which has a return rate of 87 per cent.

And while that state was No. 1, the Alberta government on Thursday pointed out that returnables in this province include a far greater number of container types than accepted in Oregon where only plastic, metal and glass are accepted. Alberta also accepts juice boxes, boxed wine, pouches and paperboard milk cartons.

According to the province, Alberta recycles more than 150,000 types of beverage containers that are sold here. There are 219 depots operating in Alberta which provide refunds for the return of empty recyclable containers.

“Alberta’s leadership in beverage container recycling is a testament to the strength of our industry-led system. As the operator of the system, Alberta Beverage Container Recycling Corporation works closely with manufacturers, depots, and partners across the province to ensure beverage containers are collected, processed and reintegrated into the circular economy. This achievement reflects the commitment of Albertans to recycling and the ongoing innovation that drives our system forward,” says Ken White, board chair of the ABCRC.

Waste & Recycling Magazine says while progress is being made in Canada, more can be done. It says that between 2015 and 2024 Canadians still wasted 56 billion beverage containers that could have been taken to recycling depots. Those numbers include 7.8 billion glass bottles, 20.6 billion metal cans and 27.5 billion plastic polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles which the American Beverage Association calls the most recyclable and recycled plastic stateside.

That number of plastic bottles that isn’t recycled in Canada, says Waste & Recycling Magazine, is enough to fill the CN Tower in Toronto nine times.

The What We Waste Dashboard created by the Reloop organization shows that the cost of the waste amounts to about $842.2 million worth of valuable materials and 3.9 million tonnes of unnecessary carbon emissions generated.

It says that deposit values in Canada are lower than the highest performing countries in the world and while Alberta, B.C. and Saskatchewan have a minimum deposit of 10 cents, six out of 11 Canadian mandatory deposit return systems still have minimum deposits of five cents. This compares, for example to Germany which has a minimum deposit of 37 cents Canadian while Finland has rates ranging from 15 cents to 59 cents Canadian. Denmark’s minimums range from 20 to 60 cents Canadian which are said to help achieve return rates exceeding 90 per cent.

Locally, the GPS depots here diverted more than 800,000 kilograms of recyclable beverage containers from landfills in 2023 alone.

While some types of beverage containers are allowed in  Lethbridge blue recycling carts, the City recommends residents take them to depots because leaving them in those bins can encourage others to root through recyclables and lead to material becoming neighbourhood litter.

In an emailed statement to the Herald Thursday, the City said support for curbside recycling here is strong.

“The City continues to see strong support for curbside recycling from Lethbridge residents and we are excited to carry this support forward as we start under the new extended producer responsibility framework that took effect April 1.”