Navigating the Next Generation of Beverage Packaging: Collaboration, Innovation and Circularity 

Return-It is a federally incorporated not-for-profit organization focused on beverage container management as our core business. Our mandate is to develop, manage, and enhance systems that facilitate the recovery of used beverage containers from consumers, ensuring they are properly recycled and diverted from landfills and incineration. As a leader in product stewardship, we adhere to the principles of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) and Industry Product Stewardship (IPS), actively collaborating with stakeholders to promote sustainable practices and foster a circular economy in British Columbia.

Alberta Beverage Container Recycling Corporation (ABCRC) oversees the collection and recycling of more than 150,000 different types of regulated, non-refillable beverage containers sold in Alberta. Used beverage containers are returned by consumers to more than 220 independently owned depots located across the province. The beverage containers are then then transported to ABCRC facilities for sorting and processing.

ABCRC operates with not-for-profit provisions as the appointed and approved collection system agent (CSA) for beverage manufacturers and distributors whose beverage containers are regulated in Alberta. ABCRC recovers more than 2 billion beverage containers each year, which keeps more that 90,000 kilograms of waste out of Alberta’s landfills annually.

Alberta’s return rates for beverage containers are among the highest in North America, but ABCRC strives to continuously improve those rates. In collaboration with industry partners, government and our affiliates across Canada, ABCRC publicly champions Alberta’s beverage container recycling system and the promotes the environmental, economic and social benefits of recycling.