Anheuser-Busch craft brewers pioneering a PPE recycling market

New Jersey-based TerraCycle says it has set up a system in cooperation with Brewers Collective, the craft business unit of Anheuser-Busch, designed to promote the proper recycling of personal protective equipment (PPE), specifically single-use face masks and gloves.

The United States-based effort involves the installation of TerraCycle Zero Waste Boxes at 18 Brewers Collective craft breweries throughout the country. Once the boxes are filled, they can be returned to TerraCycle to be cleaned, melted and processed into a raw material that can be used to make new products, such as composite decking, outdoor furniture and reusable shipping pallets.

In addition to installing Zero Waste Boxes, some of the breweries will be promoting broader community awareness of proper PPE recycling through local “Pints for PPE” efforts at their brewpubs. “Pints for PPE” offers incentives, such as gift cards or merchandise, for consumers who bring their used PPE into local participating brewpubs.

“TerraCycle’s mission has always been to ‘Eliminate the Idea of Waste’ and provide solutions for items that seem difficult to recycle, such as disposable masks and gloves,” says Sue Kauffman, public relations director for TerraCycle in North America. “Through the launch of this recycling initiative, Anheuser-Busch’s Brewers Collective is doing its part to tackle the growing impact of PPE waste in local communities and helping create a more sustainable world for future generations.”

The breweries participating in the program are 10 Barrel Brewing Co. (Denver), Appalachian Mountain Brewery (North Carolina), Blue Point Brewing Co. (Long Island, New York), Breckenridge Brewery (Colorado), Cisco Brewers (New Hampshire), Devils Backbone Brewing Co. (Virginia), Elysian Brewing (Seattle), Four Peaks Brewing Co. (Arizona), Golden Road Brewing (California), Goose Island Beer Co. (Chicago), Golden Road Brewing (California), Karbach Brewing Co. (Houston), Platform Beer Co. (Ohio), Redhook Brewing (Seattle), Veza Sur Brewing Co. (Miami), Virtue Cider (Michigan), Wicked Weed Brewing (North Carolina), Widmer Brothers Brewing (Oregon) and Wynwood Brewing Co. (Miami).

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