Between 2023 and 2024, the amount of bottled water consumed in the U.S. increased by 2%. Americans consumed 16.2 billion gallons. This increases the amount of single-use plastic entering the waste and recycling stream. While bottles are recyclable, there are still emissions from manufacturing and transportation. Some aren’t recycled properly and end up in rivers, lakes, and oceans.
Some U.S. households have started to change their ways. Instead of relying on single-use plastics, they have a pitcher or faucet water purification system from companies like Brita or PUR. PUR’s filters handle up to 100 gallons of water before replacement is needed. Brita claims one filter replaces about 300 16.9-ounce water bottles.
Water filtration systems are doing amazing things in reducing dependence on single-use water bottles, but what happens when you replace a filter? Because they contain more than just plastic, you can’t put them in your curbside recycling. We offer guidance on recycling spent water filters and accessories.
What’s Inside a Water Filter?
Water filters are designed to withstand high water pressure. Therefore, their plastic casing has to be durable. As water enters the filter, it passes through activated charcoal (captures VOCs, chlorine, and other substances that affect taste). Ion-exchange beads made from a resin mixture of polystyrene sulfonate and polyacrylate capture heavy metals such as cadmium, lead, and mercury.
Popular water filters, such as Brita and PUR, aren’t easily recycled as a sole material. That’s why it’s unlikely you’ll be able to toss them into your curbside recycling bin. Because they’re made of different materials, the recycling process is difficult but not impossible.
Think about your Brita or PUR system. You have the hard, clear plastic shell of the dispenser or pitcher. The filter also has a hard white or blue exterior case. Inside, there’s activated charcoal from coconut or other materials and ion-exchange beads. You have to take the filter apart and separate the materials.
Organic charcoal is not made of plastic and cannot be recycled as such. Plastic isn’t an organic material. They’re not interchangeable. Mixing them weakens the plastic you form from the recycled material. If it can’t bond properly, there’s no point in trying to reuse the mixture.
Exterior casings are usually made from plastics #2 (HDPE/high-density polyethylene) or #5 (PP/polypropylene). Both of those materials are recyclable. However, they must first be separated from their inner core. As the filtration does its job, the particles collect a lot of water. They must be completely dried before recycling is possible, or mold will form.
Due to the challenges recycling facilities face, most opt to throw them into the landfill, where plastics can take hundreds of years to break down. You’ve saved the landfill from hundreds of plastic bottles, but you’ve replaced them with a thick, rigid plastic shell and resin beads. Recycling is important for that reason.
How to Recycle Brita Cartridges
Brita’s taken great strides to keep its water filter cartridges out of landfills. The company partners with TerraCycle to recycle water filters. Plus, they established a refillable water filter. Both help reduce plastic from entering the landfill.
The Brita Recycling Program is free to consumers and uses a points-based system that allows you to donate to non-profit organizations. There is, however, a waitlist.
Once you’re through the waitlist, you can recycle any of Brita’s filters, pitchers, dispensers, or bottles. You need at least 5 pounds to request a prepaid label. They must be dried for at least three days before you package them.
When you make it through the waitlist, you take all the filters you’ve been storing, place them in a plastic bag, and then put the bag in a sturdy box. Seal the box and affix the pre-paid label. Drop it off with UPS or whatever shipping carrier was selected.
Consider switching to Brita’s newer refillable water filter kit. Instead of recycling a lot of plastic, remove the coconut fiber filter packet and add the replacement. You can put the pouch made from coconut fiber and activated charcoal in the trash or compost it.
How to Recycle PUR Cartridges
Currently, PUR has no official recycling program for its water filters, though the company is working to establish one. Faucet filters have a longer life (100 gallons) than pitcher filters (40 gallons), so you can reduce the number of filters you use each year with this upgrade.
It is possible to recycle them through TerraCycle’s mail-back program if you don’t mind paying for the box or padded mailer.
Once the water filters reach TerraCycle, they’re cleaned and separated. Materials are sorted by type and sent to another recycling facility for processing as described in more detail below.
What About Other Brands?
If you’re willing to invest in another brand of water pitcher or countertop dispenser filtration, Culligan ZeroWater does recycle its filters. Print out the recycling form online and send one or more filters to the Texas address listed on the form.
You must pay postage, but you receive a $20 discount on your next qualifying filter purchase. Packs of 4 or more filters qualify for the $20 off.
We recommend checking the manufacturer’s website frequently, as programs may change or be shut down due to low participation. That’s what happened with Whirlpool’s Refresh & Recycle program that allowed consumers to pay a small fee to recycle Whirlpool water filters.
What Happens When They’re Recycled
Once your filters reach specialized processing facilities like TerraCycle, they undergo several steps to ensure the highest possible percentage of materials are reclaimed. The process works like this.
- Items are sorted by type, such as the type.
- Shredders break down the plastic casings, exposing inner materials such as activated carbon.
- Materials pass through water tanks or air chambers to help further sort materials. (Activated carbon sinks in water while plastic floats.)
- Plastics are sorted by type to ensure that #2 or #5 is only with other #2 or #5 plastic particles.
- Materials are washed and melted down using extremely high temperatures.
- Plastic is extruded into plastic pellets and shipped to manufacturers who need them.
- Activated carbon is dried and reused in applications such as fish tank filtration.
Our Tip for Recycling as Much as Possible
Switching from single-use plastic water bottles to a bottle, pitcher, dispenser, under-the-sink, or whole home filtration system is a valuable step towards reducing plastic waste. It’s just as important to do everything possible to manage the entire lifecycle of these products.
When you’re throwing away water filters, that plastic becomes waste that sits in landfills for decades. It’s adding microplastics to the environment. It also forces the production of new raw materials to make new plastic pellets for water filter casings.
Take the time to research where you can send your water filters for recycling. Don’t stop there. With Recycle Nation’s AI search tool, it’s never been easier to find where to bring or mail your household waste and to protect the environment by recycling as much as possible.
