Learn About
Container Types & Refunds
The deposit amount depends on the size of the container, with a 10¢ deposit for a container 1 litre and less and a 25¢ deposit for all containers larger than 1 litre.
What Beverage Containers can be Refunded?
Beverages sold in Alberta can be returned to a Depot. Today, there are over 150,000 different beverage containers that can be returned to be refilled or recycled at Alberta Depots for a refund.
What is a Container Recycling Fee?
The container recycling fee is set by manufacturers to cover the cost of the collection, handling, transportation and processing of recycled containers that is beyond the revenue from the sale of scrap material and the unredeemed deposits.
Why Recycle Beverage Containers?
Recycling is good news for everyone and everything. It reduces the amount of waste that enters our landfills, it keeps our communities clean, it employs many Albertans and it creates new products from recycled materials.
The Recycling Lifecycle
Beverage containers recycled through one of our Depots go through a seven step process to become another useful item for consumer use.
What a Beverage Container Turns Into
Recycling your beverage containers means they can be turned into other useful items. Depending on the type of material it’s made from, beverage containers can become a wide range of other items.
FAQs
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What is a container recycling fee (CRF) and why is it charged?
Beyond your fully refundable deposit, a CRF may be applied at the point of purchase to cover the net costs in recycling beverage containers. The fee is used to fund that portion of system operations costs (collection, transportation and marketing) not covered by material revenues (i.e., the ‘salvage value’ of the containers) and unredeemed deposits. The CRFs are non-refundable and based on a not-for-profit formula. They range from no charge to up to 12 cents per container.
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Is the container recycling fee a form of government tax?
The beverage container recovery system in Alberta operates autonomously from government and does not receive funding of any kind from government.
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Why do I pay the container recycling fee in some stores but not others?
Decisions by manufacturers to pass on the container recycling fee to retailers and by retailers to pass it to consumers are made independently. Some retailers choose to pass the fee on and show it on the receipt, and other retailers include it in the price of the product.