Cartons are on Track to Become Sustainable Building Materials

Over 3,300 metric tonnes of gable top beverage containers were saved from landfills in 2023

Give that used milk carton a quick rinse before returning it to your local bottle depot for a deposit refund — it might take on a second life as a source of sustainable building material.

Gable top beverage containers include paper-type products like milk and juice cartons. Beyond their unique design, milk cartons take on new life after being recycled.

“Paper cartons have been around for a long time, but ABCRC is always seeking new, innovative ways to ensure they are recycled in the most effective manner,” said Guy West, President and CEO of Alberta Beverage Container Recycling Corporation (ABCRC).

Even though most households keep milk and juice stocked, this category of beverage containers has one of the lowest rates of return, at 77 per cent, according to ABCRC.

Still, over 3,300 metric tonnes of gable top beverage containers (the same weight as about 180 fully loaded school buses) were diverted from landfills in 2023, as outlined in the 2023 ABCRC Sustainability Report.

Most of the 67 million containers returned each year are shipped to the United States to be repurposed into sustainable building materials. For instance, milk cartons and the like can be remade into high-performance roof cover boards. This is a key part of roofing insulation, acting as an extra layer of protection against wind, fire and other forces.

“ABCRC is committed to achieving the highest possible beverage container return rate, aiming to extend the positive impacts of a circular economy throughout communities,” West says. “Our vision is to drive industry growth, foster sustainability and strengthen the network that supports a thriving circular economy.”

ABCRC generally considers beverage container materials within a three-tier framework, aiming to recycle as much of each container as possible. Gable top containers fall in the second tier of this framework, where the focus is on open-loop recycling. This means that products like your milk container are recycled into other products with minimal loss, though they cannot be used to produce new beverage containers.

Since they cannot be recycled one-to-one and used as a new beverage container, they are far more useful when repurposed to manufacture other products.

In fact, the second tier of recyclable beverage containers supports the circular economy because they can be transformed into valuable secondary products. By using these repurposed manufacturing and construction materials, companies reduce their reliance on raw resources and contribute to more sustainable practices.

A smaller portion of the gable top material collected is shredded and used to manufacture recycled paper products, such as toilet paper and tissues.

From a glass bottle to fibreglass, the journey of a single beverage container in Alberta’s beverage container recycling system showcases the triumph of a circular economy.

When you toss a glass beverage container into the garbage, it might be lost forever. But if you return it to one of the more than 200 bottle depots in Alberta, you can trust that its story won’t end there.  

Alberta’s beverage recycling infrastructure has an extensive network of bottle depots and two central processing facilities that feed recovered containers to recycling companies that transform them into secondary materials. Through this system, according to the Alberta Beverage Container Recycling Corporation (ABCRC), the energy saved from recycling one glass bottle can run a 100-watt light bulb for four hours.  

This process not only reduces costs for manufacturers that can integrate recycled material into their operations but also promotes sustainability by repurposing waste material while driving economic growth. And it all starts at the consumer level — every time an Albertan returns a beverage container, they divert it from landfills and give it new life. In 2023 alone, 51,629 tonnes of glass bottles were recycled. 

According to the latest sustainability report from ABCRC, Albertans recycled a record 2.16 billion beverage containers last year, diverting more than 99 million kg of material from landfills. ABCRC, while already achieving a nearly 85 per cent return rate, aims to do better by continuing to partner with local businesses to find novel ways to turn recycled materials into new commodities for critical production streams. 

For instance, that glass bottle will make its way to Vitreous Glass Inc., a local producer in Airdrie. It readies 99 per cent post-consumer glass by cleaning, crushing and processing it into a material called GlasSand. GlasSand is then sold to fibreglass insulation manufacturers to create fibreglass insulation for homes and other buildings.

“Our processing plant in Airdrie helps keep glass that would otherwise clog up landfills in circulation and uses it for crucial construction projects,” says Darcy Forbes, vice president and chief operating officer of Vitreous Glass. “Partnering with Alberta Beverage Container Recycling Corporation allows us to spark sustainable choices and economic diversification in Alberta.”

ABCRC is Vitreous Glass’s largest supplier, but the company also incorporates glass waste from other recycling systems in the country. The sustainable fibreglass insulation that results services the northwest region of North America.

“Following the journey of a single beverage container, from recycling bin to bottle depot to recycled material, shows how recycling drives economic growth, job creation and innovation in our critical industries,” says Guy West, president and CEO of ABCRC. 

Just by sourcing raw materials from recycled sources, businesses can shave down operating costs while reinvesting in the circular economy. The circular process is facilitated by local producers’ proximity to sources of clean glass, such as beverage depots after glass bottles have been processed.

“Moving toward a circular economy is a win-win-win,” says West. “Waste is diverted from landfills, local businesses benefit from lower costs and consumers reap economic and community rewards.”

ABCRC’s role in the circular economy highlights the synergy between environmental sustainability and economic growth.

Sustainability efforts are cropping up in every part of our daily lives, but it’s easy to forget one of the easiest and most efficient ways to transform post-consumer materials into new raw materials — through recycling our used beverage containers.

According to the latest Alberta Beverage Container Recycling Corporation (ABCRC) report, Albertans boasted an 85 per cent beverage container return rate in 2023, amounting to more than two billion non-refillable containers recovered by ABCRC and sold to recycling partners.

Not only does beverage container recycling help the planet by diverting waste from landfills, but it also provides a reliable and constant source of input material to industries that transform recycled products into secondary materials. For example, the construction industry uses fibreglass to insulate homes —  a versatile material made right here in Alberta from glass beverage containers, like juice bottles.

“Following the journey of a single bottle returned to a depot can show you how the circular economy impacts every part of our communities,” says Guy West, president and CEO of ABCRC. “The financial incentive for both consumers and businesses has never been higher.”

The economic value of Alberta’s beverage container recycling program is manifold, according to a recent Recycling Council of Alberta report (Quantifying the Economic Value of Alberta’s Recycling Programs, 2019). A total of 4,500 jobs are tied to recycling activities in the province, with indirect roles tallying up to 7,500 jobs overall, according to the report. The beverage container recycling sector plays a large part in this number thanks to the more than 220 Bottle Depots in Alberta that collect and sort containers that ABCRC then processes and transports to end markets.

According to the same report, the value of material recycled in Alberta each year adds up to roughly $70 million, while the total gross value added (GVA) from the recycling sector in Alberta in 2018 was estimated at $700 million— a measure of all of the income earned by individuals or businesses involved in recycling processing. Based on the projected growth of the recycling sector, the potential value of the GVA could double to $1.4 billion — and these figures don’t even take secondary material usage into account.

“Since recycling itself is such a valuable market, it allows businesses to contribute to the circular economy in a way where both their customers and bottom lines benefit,” says West.

Just by sourcing raw materials from recycled sources, businesses can shave down operating costs while reinvesting in the circular economy. This strategy supports local job creation, sustainable practices and community well-being.

At the same time, a strong recycling infrastructure opens the door to innovation — for both businesses and communities.

“Alberta has such a high rate of beverage container returns because communities feel the benefits of the system,” says West. “Just imagine what we could do if that return rate hit 100 per cent.”