Bottle Depot vs. Curbside Recycling in Edmonton: What Goes Where?

Edmonton has two recycling systems running side by side: the City's curbside blue bag program and the province's bottle depot return system. They handle different materials, and mixing them up costs you money.

The key difference: deposits

When you buy a beverage in Alberta, you pay a deposit on the container. That deposit is yours to claim back at a bottle depot. If you toss that same container in your blue bag instead, the City collects it, it still gets recycled, but you never see your deposit money again.

What should go to the bottle depot

• All beverage containers: pop cans, water bottles, juice boxes, beer bottles, wine bottles, milk jugs, energy drink cans, and more
• Anything with a deposit label or the word REFUND on it
• Containers of any material: aluminum, plastic, glass, cartons, bags-in-boxes

What should go in curbside recycling

• Non-beverage containers: food jars, sauce bottles, shampoo bottles, cleaning product containers
• Paper, cardboard, newspaper
• Tin cans (food cans like soup, beans, tuna)
• Plastic containers numbered 1 through 7 (non-beverage)

How much are you losing?

A family of four in Edmonton throws away an estimated $15 to $25 per month in refundable deposits by putting beverage containers in the blue bag. Over a year, that's $180 to $300. For the same effort it takes to set bags by the curb, you could book a free bottle pickup and keep that money.

The easy fix

Keep a separate bag or bin for anything that once held a drink. When it's full, book a free pickup with Triple H Southside Bottle Depot. We'll come get it, count it, and refund every cent. Your blue bag stays for everything else.