Danielle Holly, Executive Lead, North America, at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, on why this is a critical time for a circular economy in Canada.

The global demand for critical minerals is set to double by 2040. As the world shifts away from fuel-based technologies and toward electric alternatives, critical minerals – such as lithium, cobalt, and nickel – are vital to power the clean energy and digital transitions.

Canada’s economy is well positioned to benefit from the race to secure the critical minerals needed for the new electric economy. But instead of relying solely on mining and extracting these key resources, there’s a timely opportunity for Canada to lead the way in creating a more circular economy for critical minerals.

Mining the waste

Opening a new mine can take up to 16 years and is both financially and environmentally costly. Consider this. From one ton of mined gold ore, you typically get just 10 grams of gold – about the size of a wedding band. But with the right recycling and collection systems in place, a single ton of discarded smartphones could yield up to 350 grams of gold.

By recirculating materials already extracted and built into our electronics and digital infrastructure, Canada can help meet the global demand for these valuable materials, build resilient supply chains, and unlock significant economic benefits.

That future is within reach. With the right policies, infrastructure, and tracking of materials, let’s turn this vision into reality.

Explore how the circular economy can help meet the growing demand for critical minerals.
Visit ellenmacarthurfoundation.org. 

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Carleton researchers are driving net-zero innovation through strategic partnerships and interdisciplinary collaboration. Discover their impact as they work through the energy transition.

Dedicated researchers at Carleton are making strides toward a low-carbon or net-zero economy. The institution has positioned itself as a research-intensive interdisciplinary university, meaning you’ll find skilled people in many fields there, working on projects that complement a shared goal: furthering knowledge and discovery through co-creation — on campus and in the local community.

At Carleton, our researchers are advancing knowledge and discovery for a low-carbon economy through interdisciplinary co-creation on campus and in the local community. The continued funding and growth we are seeing in critical areas of sustainable energy, coupled with effective climate policy, is fuelling vital government and industry partnerships as we strive for a sustainable future.

Rafik Goubran

Vice-President (Research and International), Carleton University

Reorienting energy policy

One of these researchers is Daniel Rosenbloom, Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Public and Global Affairs, who holds the Rosamond Ivey Research Chair in Sustainability Transitions. The chair was established in 2024 and is funded by the Ivey Foundation, a community partner. It’s the first chair that’s explicitly dedicated to deepening scholarship and practice surrounding the growing field of sustainability transition in Canada.

Rosenbloom’s goal is to develop a world-class hub for research and policy around sustainability transitions. In June, he held the Net Zero Meets Trade Disruption workshop with a diverse group of leading voices from government, academia, and industry. During the intensive day-long event, participants identified trade-disruption scenarios and modelled how to handle them effectively using relevant data, policy, and tools.

Reducing industrial carbon and costs

Also on campus, you’ll find the Energy and Particle Technology Laboratory led by Reza Kholghy, Associate Professor in the Faculty of Engineering and Design and Canada Research Chair (CRC) in Industrial Decarbonization. “My research investigates technologies that could significantly reduce the carbon footprint and cost of manufacturing processes by heavy industries in Ontario,” he explains. One of the technologies is a small reactor that burns metals to produce usable products: metal oxides that can be reused and hydrogen gas, a pollution-free fuel.

Kholghy’s research is a prime example of successfully working across academic, governmental, and industrial lines. He received an Early Researcher Award from the Ontario government, which helps fund his work. He also works with international industry and key government partners, including the National Research Council Canada and Natural Resources Canada.

Creating viable, feasible change

Another example of the interdisciplinary work being done at Carleton is at the APEX (Alternative Pathways for the Energy Transition) lab, led by Faculty of Engineering and Design Associate Professors Ahmed Abdulla and Kristen Schell, who also holds a CRC in Uncertainty-informed Net Zero Energy System Modelling. There, they’re working to develop decarbonization pathways that are both “techno-economically viable” and “socio-politically feasible.”

Their work is a concentrated response to the century-defining challenge of climate change. At the lab, researchers are integrating public policy and behavioural science to optimize the design and deployment of engineered energy systems.

Carleton: advancing low-carbon knowledge and practice

The wide range of disciplines and partners involved demonstrates Carleton’s far-reaching commitment to approaching sustainability issues from every angle, and not just within the bounds of the university. It shows in its participation in the Net Zero Challenge. Carleton is a bronze-tier participant and the only university involved in the Government of Canada initiative. The commitment is also evident at Efficiency Canada, an organization that’s housed in Carleton’s Sustainable Energy Research Centre. The centre brings together academic researchers, industry, and governments to advocate for public policies that move us toward a more energy-efficient future.

Visit research.carleton.ca to see Carleton’s latest research developments.

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With the right knowledge, new and long-time Albertans alike can keep beverage containers in the loop, ensuring they’re properly recycled.

Recycling beverage containers in Alberta is not just about reducing waste — it’s a powerful economic engine that keeps valuable materials in circulation while putting money back in the hands of residents.

Despite having the highest recovery rate in Canada, Alberta still faces gaps that result in millions of containers ending up in landfills, leaving potential refunds unclaimed by consumers, according to the Alberta Beverage Container Recycling Corporation (ABCRC).

Of note, the ABCRC acknowledges that many newcomers to the province — both interprovincial migrants and immigrants — may be unfamiliar with Alberta’s beverage container recycling system and, as a result, might be missing opportunities to recycle non-traditional materials.

“Alberta has built a strong culture of recycling over the years, especially with beverage container recycling. Yet for those new to the province, this system might not be second nature,” says ABCRC president and CEO Guy West. “The opportunity lies in education — helping more people understand how easy it is to return their containers to a depot and why even the less obvious ones, such as milk cartons and juice pouches, make a difference.”

Addressing often missed container types

ABCRC, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, stewards one of the largest deposit return systems in North America. Alberta currently collects over two billion containers annually, with a nearly 85 per cent recovery rate. Yet recovery rates for non-traditional containers — such as cartons, bi-metal cans, juice boxes, drink pouches, and plastic bottles less than one litre — are considerably lower.

Of the 14.8 million drink pouches that Albertans purchased in 2023, for example, only 8.5 million were recovered — a recovery rate of just 57 per cent. Other containers such as small plastic bottles under one litre like water or juice, poly-coat cartons like protein shakes, and bi-metal cans like tomato juice or coconut water have lower recovery rates.

“Cans and bottles are easily recognizable as returnable, but other beverage containers are just as valuable,” says West, who adds that based on their overall recovery rate data, unclaimed deposits on refundable beverage containers are currently worth $40 million annually. “This is money that Albertans have paid at the point of purchase and can get back by bringing their containers to a bottle depot.”

Supporting a circular economy

In Alberta, a deposit is payable at the point of purchase for every regulated non-refillable beverage container, whether it’s an aluminum can, plastic or glass bottle, or juice box. Albertans can bring these containers to one of nearly 220 independently owned depots to have that deposit refunded back to them.

“It’s a simple way for Albertans to put money back in their pockets and keep millions of beverage containers out of landfills every year while also having a significant impact on Alberta’s economy,” says West. “The more we can educate people — whether they’ve been recycling here for years or are still getting used to the system — the better we can ensure every container stays out of the landfill and in the circular economy.”

Visit abcrc.com to learn more about how to return your containers.

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Canada’s economy has long been built on a linear model of extraction, production, and consumption. Unfortunately, this linear model has led to Canada being a major over-consumer of our resources (we require five planets on average to maintain our lifestyles), along with being a leading country globally in terms of waste production per capita.

According to the Council of Canadian Academies, Canada is only 6 per cent circular, with 73 per cent of our resources lost to disposal — much of which still holds value. This wasteful approach not only has negative impacts on our environment, but also presents supply chain vulnerabilities and missed economic opportunities by failing to fully capture and recapture the value of our resources.

The impact of recent tariffs on Canadian goods by the U.S. has further highlighted this vulnerability. We have seen the disruption of supply chains, increased costs for essential goods and materials, and an unhealthy dependency on one major trading partner.

But what if the pressures that seem to constrain us — political, environmental, and economic — could actually direct us toward a more prosperous and sustainable future?

The circular economy presents solutions

A circular economy, which focuses on minimizing waste and maximizing resource value through redesign, reuse, repair, remanufacturing, and recycling, offers a powerful solution. By embracing circular principles and strategies, we can reimagine this challenge as an opportunity for economic reinvention.

For Canada, this means more than just mitigating the negative impacts from tariffs; it’s an avenue by which our goals for greater economic resilience, regeneration, and transformation can be realized.

Embracing the circular economy can help Canada build more robust local supply chains.

We have a home-court advantage

Embracing the circular economy can help Canada build more robust local supply chains. By supporting “buy Canadian” initiatives and fostering domestic partnerships, we can reduce our reliance on imports and create new domestic market opportunities for Canadian manufacturers and innovators offering solutions that are better for our environment, our communities, and our economy.

Moreover, embracing circular economy principles–such as reusing materials and extending product life cycles — can offset the adverse effects of tariffs and lead to the development of more sustainable and resilient businesses and supply chains.

We must embrace a system redesign

The circular economy is more than just an environmental strategy; it’s a blueprint for economic transformation. It’s about looking beyond recycling and designing a system that is regenerative by nature.

By treating the circular economy not as an “eco-niche” but as a core industrial strategy, we can unlock significant benefits, from enhanced supply chain resilience to increased innovation and productivity.

Canada has the talent, resources, and policy capacity to lead this global shift. This is about more than just efficiency — it’s time for Canada to think beyond waste and start designing for competitive advantage.

Learn how Circular Economy Leadership Canada is leading the charge in driving innovation, solutions and transformation for a circular future for Canada by visiting circulareconomyleaders.ca.

The post Navigating Disruption: How the Circular Economy Can Power Canada’s Economic Future appeared first on HiveInnovates.

Canada’s beverage industry is calling for a national recycling framework to harmonize system design and build a stronger circular economy. 

Whether consumers realize it or not, they’re taking part in the circular economy every day. When a used beverage container goes in a blue box or is dropped off at a retailer or a depot, it enters a circular economy that transforms the material into new products and packaging.

With more than 50 years of successfully operating beverage container recycling programs, high consumer adoption and the move to extended producer responsibility (EPR), several Canadian provinces are global leaders in enabling a circular economy for packaging. EPR requires producers take full or partial financial and operational responsibility for collecting and recycling their products and packaging. 

The widespread adoption of deposit return systems (DRSs) and public policy initiatives to drive up recycling rates in Canada are proven examples of recycling leadership in action. In a DRS, consumers are incentivized to return their beverage containers with a modest deposit — typically 10 cents. Provinces with established DRSs achieve high recovery rates for non-alcoholic beverage containers, with programs in Alberta and Saskatchewan recovering over 80 per cent of all containers. Inconsistency across the regulatory landscape in provincial recycling regulations, notably Ontario’s lack of a DRS program for non-alcoholic beverage containers, has limited the national beverage container recovery rate.

With more than 50 years of successfully operating beverage container recycling programs, high consumer adoption and the move to extended producer responsibility (EPR), several Canadian provinces are global leaders in enabling a circular economy for packaging.

A framework to improve beverage container recovery rates

Through partnerships like the Canada Plastics Pact, beverage companies are collaborating to improve packaging recyclability and meet recycled content targets. But without a stable domestic supply of recycled content, beverage producers cannot source the required volume of recycled material from domestic end markets alone.

The solution is bringing a national focus to the circular economy with a national recycling framework. Common definitions, data and reporting standards, and a shared understanding of system design would transform the recycling landscape in Canada. This would harmonize recycling policy across provinces and territories, reducing trade barriers and aligning EPR principles to enable economies of scale and minimize disruption for Canadian beverage companies.

A collaborative approach built around shared principles would have the added benefit of fostering resilience and much-needed business certainty for a sector still facing increased system costs due to tariffs. It would also keep provinces in control of program design while Canadians benefit from the sharing of enhanced design principles, building on best practices for convenient and effective beverage container recycling.

Canada’s beverage sector has already shown that the circular economy is not an abstract idea — it is a practical system that Canadians participate in every day. By working together on shared principles and proven solutions, we can reduce waste, strengthen our economy, and give Canadians the modern recycling system they expect and deserve. The path forward is clear: it’s time to close the loop, together.

Visit canadianbeverage.ca to learn more.

The post A Framework for Success: Canada’s Path to a Circular Economy  appeared first on HiveInnovates.

Edmund Chin

Managing Director and Co-Founder, Lucid Corp

Lucid Corp’s innovative plastic meat tray eliminates the problem of non-recyclable soaker pads and diverts tons of plastic from the landfill.

If you think those empty plastic meat trays you toss into your Blue Box get recycled, think again. “Tens of billions of plastic and Styrofoam trays with soaker pads are dumped into landfills each year,” says Salman Ebrahim, President & Co-Founder of Lucid Corp, a Toronto-based firm specializing in food packaging solutions.

The soaker pad or “diaper” in the tray is there to absorb the fluids, or purge, that come from proteins like chicken, beef, and seafood. While the plastic tray itself is recyclable, the pad attached to the tray isn’t. “People toss the whole thing into the recycling bin with good intentions, but by not removing the soaker pad, that tray is now non-recyclable and will be rejected at the sorting plant and sent to the landfill,” says Edmund Chin, Managing Director and Co-Founder, Lucid Corp. 

Innovative solution 

Lucid Corp has developed a solution to this global challenge. “Once we grasped the gravity of the problem, we knew we had to act,” says Ebrahim.  In 2020, he and Chin founded Lucid Corp with the goal of becoming the most sustainable food packaging company in the world. Their determination, coupled with a world-class engineering team, led to the invention of the Lucid Infinity^TM tray. The Infinity tray is made from 100 per cent recyclable polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and is the first commercially pad-less tray available at scale. “By prioritizing efficiency through automation and process, we’ve engineered a solution that makes the soaker pad totally obsolete. Our patented 2-piece design provides a sophisticated built-in reservoir, cleanly separating meat fluids from the product,” says Chin.

Pad-less trays make it easy for consumers 

That’s good news for both consumers and the environment. “Being pad-less, consumers don’t have to handle or smell the bacteria-laced soaker pad. They can simply place the Lucid Infinity tray into the recycling bin and feel confident that they’re helping to divert tens of billions of trays with soaker pads from the landfill,” says Chin, “It’s the world’s largest problem in sustainable food packaging.”

The tray’s leak-resistant design and customizable reservoir make it a versatile product choice for commercial retailers. “Our tray delivers premium quality, and is engineered for sustainability and circularity, but priced to compete head-to-head with standard meat trays with soaker pads,” says Ebrahim. 

Rising pressure to address plastic pollution

Leaders are recognizing the negative impact of the plastic pollution crisis on human health and the environment. While the recent fifth round of negotiations for a UN Global Plastics Treaty to eliminate plastic pollution failed to reach an agreement, a majority of countries have expressed support for it. “With consumers demanding sustainable choices, companies racing to hit ESG goals, and industry groups enforcing the Golden Design Rules that our tray already meets, the shift to sustainable is inevitable,” says Ebrahim.

Choose recyclable plastics

Consumers can help accelerate this shift through the choices they make every single day. By advocating for sustainable food packaging, such as the Lucid Infinity tray, retailers and consumers can help drive a powerful push towards a more sustainable and regenerative economy. “The Lucid Infinity tray has set the gold standard in food packaging. When you offer your consumers our 100 per cent PET packaging options, you’re sending a clear message about your commitment to sustainability,” says Ebrahim. “All Lucid Infinity packaging is 100 per cent recyclable, helping to meet ambitious environmental goals,” he says.

More sustainable options 

In addition to making conscious choices, there are plenty of advocacy activities consumers and retailers can partake in. They may consider writing to sustainability leaders or directors of major grocery chains encouraging them to phase out the use of soaker pads. They can also advocate during grocery store visits by asking the manager if they plan to adopt a pad-less tray. Chances are, they don’t even know about it, so here’s your chance to educate.

Grocery chain leaders can bring this solution to the table for consideration. Not only is it helping to solve a global environmental waste problem, but the Lucid Infinity tray also makes for a positive consumer experience at a competitive price—no mess, no fuss, and no more guesswork on where it should go. And in-store, it’s designed to highlight freshness and offer customizable designs for sleek, streamlined merchandising. 

Learn more about Lucid Corp’s sustainable food packaging at lucidcorp.com.

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The RCA uses the R-Ladder and the loops within it to help guide participants on their path to circularity.

We’ve all heard of the 3Rs — Reduce, Reuse, Recycle — but when it comes to building a true circular economy, they’re just the beginning. Circularity is about long-term smart solutions, designing waste out of systems, keeping materials in use at their highest value and regenerating natural systems.

So, how do we know what to do first? What makes one circular action better than another? And how can businesses, communities, and individuals keep materials in use for as long as possible?

At the Recycling Council of Alberta (RCA), where we promote circular thinking, we use the R-Ladder and the loops within it to help answer these questions. The R-Ladder is a practical tool that ranks circular strategies from most to least circular, based on how efficiently they keep materials in circulation.

Many of our members are working to advance the circular economy too and we’re here to share the examples of the great work taking place along the R-Ladder rungs in Alberta and beyond.

The Higher the R, the Better the Loop

Here’s how the Good–Better–Best framework looks through the lens of the R-Ladder. Short loops return materials to use faster, with less energy or processing. Long loops take more time, energy, or transformation to reuse the material.

Good: Long Loops – Recycling & Recovery

These are familiar strategies. They require breaking materials down before reusing them, which uses energy and resources, however the materials recycled displace the need for further mining and resource extraction.

Here are some examples from Alberta.Cascades Recovery, Merlin Plastics, Revolution Plastics, and EFS-plastics are leaders in recycling paper or plastics. Catapult Environmental is exploring recovery through anaerobic digestion and biogas production.PlasCred Circular Innovations is pioneering chemical recycling technologies.

Better: Medium Loops – Reuse, Repair, Refurbish

These activities extend a product’s life with minimal transformation—keeping more value in the system.

Some examples include the Town of Banff through their Banff Borrows program promotes reusable to go cups, food take-out packaging and containers. Find Furniture Bank is a social enterprise that recirculates furniture.  Goodwill Alberta and Backroads Reclamation give second life to products through repair and refurbishment. Circular Supply Inc., and Earth Warrior, remanufacture old materials into innovative new products.

Best: Short Loops – Refuse, Reduce, Rethink

The most circular option? Don’t create the product in the first place. Smart design and mindful consumption help us refuse what we don’t need and reduce what we do.

For example, Change Toothpaste has created toothpaste without harmful packaging. As well as, libraries of things and lending libraries are popping up across the Country (City of Lethbridge, Strathcona County), embracing the sharing economy.

Members across the value chain of circularity are promoting policies and practices that refuse single-use items or packaging and support refilleries and bulk-buy shops.

Why This Matters

The circular economy is a smarter system for how we produce and consume. By climbing the R-Ladder, Alberta’s innovators are showing what’s possible. We’re proud to support these leaders and help more organizations make the climb.

Visit recycle.ab.ca/rca-r-ladder to find more information about the R-Ladder tool and the RCA’s initiatives.

Visit our Enviro Businesses guide to reach our members: recycle.ab.ca/enviro-businesses

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Chantal Simard

Vice-President of Marketing and Sustainability, Multy Home

By reimagining materials once destined for landfill, Multy Home is driving Canada’s circular economy and creating products for homes worldwide.

Thirty years ago, we witnessed a fire of 14 million used car tires, which ultimately tipped this country toward a circular economy of weird wastes. The 1990 Hagersville Tire Fire triggered solutions for recycling programs beyond glass bottles. Today, car tires are still considered a “Weird Waste,” a term used by Multy Home, a Canadian company that transforms recycled materials into sustainable home and garden products, to describe materials that, while ineligible for municipal recycling programs, nonetheless hold worth within the circularity of materials in Canadian value chains.

When Multy Home was challenged to incorporate rubber from used tires to make new products, the curiosity and creativity of company founders were set ablaze. They re-invented existing products historically made from virgin raw materials, converted them into recycled rubber, and then partnered with major retailers to put the new consumer-ready products on shelves.   

Today, Multy continues to manufacture new products such as planters and garage flooring from recycled rubber diverted from Canadian landfills. Multy has since diverted 27 million tires from landfills and produced products for millions of homes across the planet.

Shaping a sustainable future

“At Multy, we think Weird Waste is beautiful. There are many types of waste, especially plastics, that still lack curbside recycling solutions today,” says Multy’s Vice-President of Marketing and Sustainability Chantal Simard. “REDU Materials is what we’ve named our process of transforming Waste into Wonders.”

“Multy now has many formulations using mixed wastes in our various manufacturing locations in the Toronto area and in Cowansville, Que. Our Quebec facility’s expertise is in sheet extrusion. We produce flexible matting made of recycled rubber and plastics to support tiered manufacturing in the automotive sector, vehicle conversions, commercial mats, and even residential applications,” says Multy’s Chief Operating Officer Rod Anderson, proving that Multy’s reach with recycling solutions continues to drive circularity solutions in Canada.

To learn more visit Multy.com. 

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Canadians don’t need to be told the world feels more precarious than ever. Inflation is squeezing household budgets, climate disasters are leaving communities with mounting repair bills, and global tensions are disrupting trade. Against this backdrop, a looming economic recession has become a pressing national concern.

Each October, the Circular Innovation Council (CIC)—a national nonprofit devoted to building a more sustainable, circular economy—asks Canadians to think differently about consumption and waste. Its annual Circular Economy Month campaign, which began as Waste Reduction Week in 2001, has grown into a month-long call to rethink how we design, make, consume, and manage products. This year, the focus is squarely on the circular economy as a solution to economic resilience, affordability, and building a stronger, more sustainable community for all.  

A circular economy is a systems-level shift: designing durable products for reuse and repair, keeping the earth’s resources in circulation longer, and shortening supply chains. The environmental logic is clear—less waste in landfills, lower emissions from extraction and transportation—but the economic benefits are just as promising.

“Circular economy isn’t just about reducing our environmental harm, it’s also about boosting our economy and creating social impact – all at the same time.” says Caitlin Perry, Program Manager at the CIC. “Actions like reusing and repairing products keep money in people’s pockets, and shorter supply chains cut costs and help keep jobs and skills rooted in local communities.”

Beyond Individual Action

For decades, Canadians were told that small consumer choices—bringing a reusable bag, rinsing a jar and placing it in their recycling bin—were the heart of sustainability. These actions still matter, but the transition to a circular economy requires engagement at all levels. “Individuals can only do so much without leadership and innovation from organizations and governments.” Perry says.

That can mean designing products to be repaired rather than replaced, embracing reusable packaging, and incorporating recycled content in products/packaging, among other things. Local governments specifically, are presented with a huge opportunity to champion local impact through community-based programming, policies, and pilot projects.

Designing for Efficiency, Competing on Trust

For businesses, embracing a circular economy goes well beyond doing the right thing—it’s about protecting the bottom line. Reused office furniture or remanufactured equipment comes at a fraction of the cost of new purchases. Reusable packaging reduces ongoing material expenses and shields companies from volatile commodity prices. Shorter, more localized supply chains cut transportation costs and lower exposure to geopolitical risks like tariffs.

And in a market where consumers are scrutinizing corporate sustainability efforts, circular business models enhance brand credibility. Canadians are attuned to climate change and cost-of-living pressures, and they’re choosing companies that respond to both. “Innovation and transparency really matters,” Perry says. “Consumers are keen to support companies that are making more sustainable choices and incorporate circular business models.”

Collaboration is Key

No single company or government can make the shift alone. The move from linear to circular requires collaboration at every level: innovation in businesses, community engagement, effective policy, and participation from citizens.

Repair cafés and skill-building workshops in communities, for instance, are built through partnerships among local governments, nonprofits, and volunteers. However, to successfully repair products, manufacturers must design with repair in mind.  Other circular models – like reuse systems that reduce single-use plastics involve cooperation from many stakeholders in the community such as local food service businesses, logistics partners, and participating individuals. 

The Circular Opportunity

On a global scale, the circular economy could unlock $4.5 trillion of economic growth and create six million new jobs.

Canada’s shift toward a circular economy is already delivering measurable results. A 2019 analysis found that, across six key circular sectors, the country supported between 371,000 and 379,000 jobs while preventing 1.6 million tonnes of CO₂ emissions each year. Activities such as reuse, repair, and refurbishment alone accounted for roughly $56 billion in economic value that year.

Join the movement: Circular Economy Month mobilizes businesses, governments, individuals and communities to celebrate environmental successes, showcase innovations, announce commitments, and educate stakeholders on the value of circularity and how to take action—all October long. Circular Economy Month is made possible with the support of sponsors including the Canadian Standards Association, Alberta Beverage Container Recycling Corporation, Circular Materials, and other supporters.

Join the movement — all October long, click the button to learn more.

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Alberta’s leading beverage container recycling system demonstrates the role community and entrepreneurism play in building a healthy circular economy.  

Since 1997, Beverage Container Management Board (BCMB) has ensured Albertans have convenient access to reliable recycling for used beverage containers. The Government of Alberta delegated the non-profit organization to regulate the province’s deposit return system, keeping empty beverage containers from polluting the environment.

Canada’s leading system collects 18 different types of containers, including liquor bottles, bi-metal drink cans, and even drink pouches. Success is rooted in BCMB’s oversight, a robust network of independently owned bottle depots, across 160 communities and a strong culture of entrepreneurialism. Many depots have become buzzing community hubs that support local charities, sports teams, and provide a subset of Albertans with an income they may not otherwise have.

The Path to 100 per cent

BCMB’s work has supported economic diversification and a stronger circular economy, where resources are reused instead of discarded. Beverage container recycling has created primary and secondary jobs, and Albertans have benefited from a cleaner environment. The province boasts an impressive collection rate, but there is more to be collected.

As BCMB President Mark Emsden explains, “While Alberta’s population has grown, access to depots for some groups is becoming more limited and difficult. We are exploring different, modern collection options to improve the accessibility, convenience, and efficiency of our system, benefiting everyone.”

With around 15 per cent more containers to collect, BCMB is exploring solutions to reach hard-to-service areas and encouraging younger demographics to recycle. With new technologies, community participation, and Alberta’s trademark ingenuity, the goal of collecting 100 per cent of beverage containers sold seems well within reach.

To learn more about Alberta’s Beverage Container Management Board and its longstanding innovative approach to container collection, visit bcmb.ab.ca.   

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