The Beverage Industry & the Environment

We are striving to reduce our environmental footprint wherever we can – from our facilities and fleets to our packaging. Beverage companies employ state-of-the-art systems for manufacturing our products, minimizing energy and water use. We also develop innovative packaging to meet consumer demands, while minimizing the use of raw materials. For example, our ongoing efforts to lightweight beverage containers means that our packaging still accounts for only a small portion of our nation’s waste stream.

And our use of recyclable packaging means that our containers can be recovered all over the country. To support those efforts, we commit time, energy, and resources toward promoting recycling at a community level. Our Recycle It Now program has increased recycling rates by up to 25 percent in communities where it was tested.

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Our major container types – aluminum, PET and glass – are accepted in nearly every recycling program around the country. The aluminum beverage can is the most recycled and recyclable single consumer product package on the market today. Currently, more than half of all aluminum beverage containers are recycled. Lightweight PET (plastic) beverage containers continue to be the fastest-growing beverage package in America. These containers are widely recycled and also have a high market value as scrap.

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The most important thing you can do is to save your bottles and cans at home and use your local recycling program. Two-thirds of all beverage packaging is consumed at home, so your involvement with your community program is the best first step. You can contact your local city or town for information about how recyclables are collected.

Having a recycling program for bottles and cans at work is another important step. For more information about recycling programs and opportunities, check out the beverage industry’s Recycle It Now program and the Environmental Protection Agency’s Recycle City.