Massachusetts Breweries Champion Can Carrier Reuse & Recycle Initiative

Plastic can carriers are not recyclable in Massachusetts but they can be reused or recycled. And a team of breweries and eco-groups are making sure they do get reused.

Here’s the deal…

Massachusetts is in a weird situation when it comes to those plastic can beer carriers.

Even though they’re marked as recyclable by manufacturers, the state’s waste disposal companies claim that they’re incompatible with their sorting equipment so you can’t put them your recycling bin.

Adding to this unfortunate situation is the fact that an estimated 10 million new plastic can carriers are used annually by breweries in Massachusetts, with just 10% of them being collected and re-used, and less than 2% of them ever getting recycled.

As a result, the amount of plastic beer packaging waste ending up in landfills each year is enough to fill any of the state’s largest breweries with discarded carriers rather than beer.

To help consumers meet the challenge, Eco-Friendly Beer and the Mass. Brew Bros. have partnered with GreenLabs Recycling on an innovative collection and recycling program that launched in Metro Boston in May.

GreenLabs, which already provided the only plastic recycling collection of its kind for labs in academia and industry in the region, extended its services to four of Greater Boston’s popular breweries: the Harpoon Beer Hall in South Boston, Lamplighter Brewing in Cambridge, Mighty Squirrel Brewing in Waltham, and at Trillium Brewing’s Seaport and Fenway locations.

The program is ensuring that collected can carriers actually get to a plastics processor where they eventually become raw material for other plastic products.

And now the plastic can recycling initiative is surging…

The number of verified can carrier collections programs now stands at nearly 100, and the Mass. Brew Bros. website has even created a state-wide map so consumers can find their nearest location.

Since launching in May consumers have turned in nearly 20,000 of the not-curbside-recyclable carriers for reuse or proper recycling. Statewide, a notable uptick has occurred in consumer turn-ins of used carriers at practically every brewery or beer store willing to accept them.

Stone Cow Brewing in Barre has packaged some 200,000 cans in sanitized and re-used carriers since initiating its reuse operation. And with Untold Brewing in Scituate, MA now having reused more carriers than any brewery in the state, many in the industry are realizing the benefits of this effort and getting onboard.

American Craft Beer applauds this amazing effort, its creators and everybody involved.