Value of Recycled Containers at Prince George’s PG Recycling and Return-It Centre

Recycled Container Value

All recycled drinking containers are valued by their size, not the material from which they are made. Below shows how much your recycled materials are worth:

• Non-Alcoholic, 1L and Under:5¢

• Alcoholic, 1L and Under:10¢

• All Containers, More than 1L:20¢

• Domestic Beer:90¢ per Dozen

• Imported Beer Cans:90¢ per Dozen

• Imported Beer Bottles:10¢ per Bottle

How Your Recycled Containers are Used

We can make use of every kind of drinking container you recycle, which earns you money and protects the Earth with less landfill, less use of raw materials, and increased energy savings. Recycling also means less disturbance and damage to ecosystems because mining is reduced.

Aluminum Cans

Aluminum cans are cleaned, cut into small pieces, and melted into bars before being used by manufacturers to make, among other things, aluminum chairs, foil, and, of course, cans.

The aluminum recycling process uses 95% less energy than what is needed to produce new aluminum. For this reason, nearly 75% of aluminum produced 125 years ago is still being used today.

Plastic Bottles

Your plastic bottles are sorted by colour and the type of plastic they’re made of, then cleaned, shredded, and made into pellets for use in making of other plastic products.

Recycling plastic bottles can save up to 75% of the energy used to manufacture new plastic bottles.

Glass

Glass containers are separated by colour, crushed and screened, and sifted to remove all non-glass material. The fine glass particles are then mixed with other glassmaking materials and melted to make new glass, or it can be used in a number of other materials, such as fibreglass products.

Recycling glass uses about 20% less energy than making new glass.

Bi-Metal Cans

Bi-metal cans are usually either steel bodies with aluminum ends or steel cans with tin coating. All are recyclable, and the steel can be recycled to make any product that uses steel.

And recycling steel saves about 75% of the energy used to mine iron ore to produce new steel.

Polycoated Paperboard

Juice boxes, milk cartons, and other paperboard drinking containers are separated from their polyethylene coatings and made into pulp. The pulp is then used in making soft paper products like tissues and paper towels, or more rigid materials like cardboard.

Other paperboard materials include paper rolls and food boxes.

The polyethylene is also reused for various purposes, making polycoated paperboard nearly 100% recyclable.