Cool Stats & Facts

Have you ever wondered what happens to the containers that you return to your local Encorp Return-It Depot? Well, here's a summary of some of the processes...

Of course, all of the containers returned into the system are diverted from landfill and recycled. But how are these materials recycled and what do they become once recycled? Well, we have dug up a few answers to these questions; we hope you find them informative and interesting.

• In 2008, Encorp Pacific recycled over 1 billion containers weighing more than 86 thousand metric tonnes.
• That would equal more than 1 million grown men weighing 150 lbs each. That is almost equal to the entire population of Surrey and Vancouver combined.
• BC place stadium is 762 meters in circumference and 61 meters high.  If we add up the containers Encorp has recycled in the past fifteen years they would have filled the entire stadium from top to bottom twice over (10 billion containers weighing over 700,000 metric tonnes).
• If we loaded the beverage containers we have collected over this period (15 years) into 53-foot trailers and then lined them end to end, the distance covered would be equivalent to 28 trips from BC Place to Whistler, BC.
• By recycling the containers for the past 15 years, we have saved enough energy to power more than 470,000 homes and took 300,000 cars off of BC roads.
• And, we have prevented over 1.3 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent from being released into our atmosphere.
• Each tonne of recycled paper means 17 trees do not have to be cut down.
• The layer of aluminum used in drink boxes is one tenth the thickness of a human hair.
• It takes four times as much energy to make steel from raw ore as it does to make it from recycled steel.
• 50 percent of the material in aluminum cans has been recycled at least once.
• The process of recycling an aluminum can, manufacturing another, filling it, packing and shipping it to stores, takes less than 60 days.
• 14 recycled PET bottles can make one extra large T-Shirt.
• 3700 recycled two litre beverage containers will produce 150 fleece shirts, and save one barrel of oil in the process.
• Recycling one glass bottle saves enough energy to keep the light on in your bedroom for four hours.
• Every pound of glass fibre insulation annually saves 12 times more energy than was originally used to produce it.
• Juice boxes really do get recycled into toilet paper.

Aluminum cans:		These are crushed and then baled into a large block. Then transported in bales that weigh over 20 tons and contain over 1.2 million containers. These bales are sold as a commodity and the aluminum is melted down and reformed into more aluminum cans. This entire process only takes 60 days before the old container is recycled, refilled, and back on the store shelf.
PET (clear plastic):		Clear plastic beverage containers are baled, shredded and the plastic flakes are sold as a commodity. In some cases the plastic is then put through a process whereby it is turned into a fibre that can be used to make fleece jackets and vests among other items. Most of the plastic that Encorp collects is used to make new bottles for things like motor oil or bleach.
Glass:		These containers are collected and the glass is crushed into pieces that can then be ground back into sand, which is what glass is made of. The sand is then sold for use as mix in sandblasting material or it's made into fibreglass used to insulate homes.
Aseptic or Tetra pac:		Drink boxes are made up of three material types: paper, an aluminum lining, and a plastic coating. Each container goes through a hydro-pulping process that separates the different material types. The resulting paper pulp is then used to make cardboard boxes of all shapes, sizes and colors, as well as toilet paper.
Bi-metal:		Beverage container metal tins and cans are baled and then melted down to be turned into scrap metal, which can then be used as construction re-bar.
Bag-in-a-box:		For bag-in-a-box containers, they just pull out the plastic bag and recycle the bag and the box separately. Manufacturing the pulp from bag-in-a-box and gable top containers is fairly coarse, so the new paper made from it is quite strong. That makes it suitable for tough objects like cardboard boxes.
Gable Top:		Gable top cartons are made only of paper and plastic. Each container goes through a hydro-pulping process that separates the different material types. The resulting paper pulp is then used for all kinds of industrial paper products.