How and Where to Recycle Brita Filters (and Yes, It’s The Right Thing To Do!)
As you know from my blogs on water filters, how to choose the best one for YOUR water, and which is the best type of filter, my favourite brand of carbon filter is Brita.
And here you’ll find out how to recycle your filters after you’ve used them.
How do you know if you’ve got a carbon filter? If it’s an in-fridge, pitcher (jug), or faucet (tap) filter, it’s most likely a carbon filter.
Why does EcoExpert like Brita filters? Because you can recycle the filters, and Brita have a good reputation in the marketplace.
Why should I Recycle my Filters? Most filters are made of plastic, and – even worse – of plastic #5, which many recycling plants don’t accept for recycling. So they end up in landfills, and (like all plastic) it lasts forever.
Interesting Point!
Originally, Brita were recycling in Europe but not in the US. But (hooray!) consumer pressure made them offer recycling options in the US – so let’s show them it’s worthwhile by being sure to recycle your filters – the planet will thank you!
OK, How Do I Recycle My Filters?
Recycling Brita Filters is Easy! You either drop them off in a participating store, or mail them. See below for the details for your country.
What will happen to the filters?
They will be recycled into plastic toothbrush and razor handles, cups and cutting boards. Some parts are recycled into park benches, watering cans, outdoor furniture and bike racks. These can then be recycled again, and so given a third ‘life’. The carbon and contaminants in the filters are regenerated for alternative use.
Here’s how to recycle Brita filters – check for your country below.
Recycle Brita Filters in the USA
Brita have partnered with Terracycle, making it easy for all American customers to recycle Brita filters! And you can earn Brita Reward points too!
Here’s what to do:
- Dry the used filters by shaking off excess water, and leaving them in a dry place for at least 3 days.
- Collect 5 pounds of Brita products that you want to recycle.
- Wrap them in a plastic grocery bag or garbage bag (it will be recycled too) and pack in a box
- Sign in (or create a new – free – account) at Brita’s US website and you’ll be able to print a free shipping label.
- Mail the box, and know you’ve done your part to help reduce the plastic load on the planet!
Recycle Brita Filters In Canada
If you live near a London Drugs store, I’m told you can drop off your old Brita filters there.
Alternatively, Brita Canada has apparently partnered with Preserve for recycling. Here’s what to do –
1. Dry out 3 used Brita filters
2. Wrap them in plastic (ugh), and ship them to Brita, preferably in the original box.
3. The Preserve website https://www.preserve.eco/ has a link to a prepaid shipping label to print and affix to the box.
The Preserve recycling plant is in New York, so Brita Canada apparently ships them large batches of used filters a couple of times a year. Preserve then recycle both the plastic and the active filter elements.
An EcoFriendlyLink reader also recommends Aquagear water filter pitchers or jugs – he says they last longer, remove more nasties and are easier to recycle than Brita in Canada.
Recycle Brita Filters In the UK and Ireland
Brita has partnered with a number of high street retailers to provide a BRITA Retail Recycling scheme across the UK that makes it really easy to recycle your Brita filters! Just drop off the filter at participating stores – including Boots and Argos.
You can:
- Look for the blue Brita recycle box in your favourite shops, OR
- Contact BRITACare on 0844 742 4800
- OR simply enter your postcode into this recycling locator.
Recycle Brita Filters In Europe
Brita is headquartered in Germany. You can:.
- Go to this site and find a dealer near you. Ask them how to recycle your filter. (Many shops have a recycling box).
- Or phone this Customer Care number: 0800 – 500 18 18
Recycle Brita Filters In Australia
Edit – Feb 2019 – France from Australia has just updated me. She phoned Brita Australia and was told that Australians can recycle the filters in your kerbside recycling scheme IF you cut them open and empty out the contents first.
It’s not ideal, but it’s definitely better than nothing! Thanks France for the update!
Well, this is frustrating! Brita Australia talk about how careful they are about their environmental impact – but they don’t seem to provide a way for Australian consumers to recycle their filters.
An Australian lady started a petition to Brita to start recycling – Brita however said there was insufficient interest by consumers. The petition was later closed as it only received 53 signatures (it needed 10,000). Sigh.
Recycle Brita Water Filters in South Africa
Sadly, I was unable to find any options. If anyone knows, please let me know in the Comments below!
Summary
Many countries offer easy ways to recycle your water filters, and some take back the packaging too. It’s so much more green and eco friendly to use a water filter instead of buying bottled water (and it’s miles cheaper too). So carry on doing your bit for the planet by recycling your filters after use – they can be made into all sorts of useful products. Plus, you’ll be keeping nasty plastic out of landfills.
See below for more information on water filters.
Warm regards,
Other interesting articles on water filters:
- Choose the best water filter for YOU!
- Which type of water filter is best?
- The best water filter for Las Vegas and for Barcelona
- Is your drinking water safe and tasty?
- Is chlorine in water good or bad?
- Bottled versus tap water – the taste test (video)
Editor’s Note: This article has been updated with new information (January 2018).
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Thank you, Clare. I didn’t know you could recycle Brita filters. I’ve been thinking of investing in a second pitcher, and I’ll be sure to make it Brita based on your information.
Cherie Miranda
Thanks for more great information about water filtration. It’s not a subject I knew much about until I read your posts!
Michael
Recycling water filters can be a good eco friendly thing to do.
Scott Sylvan Bell
Thanks Clare, I didn’ know you could recycle Brita filters. Once again you have gone the extra mile and researched this thoroughly.
I saw something last night on how they are starting, or possibly just starting to look into, using termites in decomposing land fills. I would love to know more about this.
The EcoExpert hit the nail on the head today. A lot of people don’t know the difference between plastics or gimme 5. You have made the steps to recycle Brita filters so easy a person would have to be down right disrepectful not to do so.
.
Clare this is a very helpful information. I would not have known how to recycle my filters otherwise.
Pretty amazing that customer pressure caused Brita to expand recycling services. Just shows what a collective people can do, eh?
Why is #5 one of the harder plastics to recycle? how many #’s are there, and how many are difficult to recycle?
Mark Hogan
Angelina really likes bottled water but she is kinda lazy about carrying them home and she isn’t into recycling them. I was thinking of switching to Brita but looks like we can’t recycle them here….I will just have to sneak them in to the luggage of people going back to the states!
Sonya Lenzo
Clare,
As usual, you go above and beyond service to make sure the planet is kept eco-friendly. I really appreciate how you took the time to make sure that, no matter where one live, there is a place we can recycle our Brita filters.
Stay Amazing and Do Extraordinary Things, Neil
Clare,
This is very helpful information. I use a Brita Filter and have not been recycling the filters. Now I will and there is a Whole Foods near my home.
Dennis
Clare, Thanks. I use my Brita water jug every day. I love the idea of recycling the filters.
I had no idea you could recycle Brita filters. Thanks for the heads up.
Andrew
News to me also about recycling Brita filters . Must have a look at work , as Brita filters a in one of the departments I look after .
That’s awesome info…I never knew Brita filters could be recycled, and I use them all the time. I’m definitely going to make sure to recycle them now. Thanks for the info.
TKS
Hi Green Goddess,
Oh Praise God, there are Whole Food Markets everywhere in the United States. Excellent. Thank you so much for including where to go to recycle your brita filters in you fabulous eco-friendly blog. You THE Green Goddess, Loving the Earth, for sure!
Oh, and I had no idea about the plastic yogurt containers! We reuse all of that stuff for ages afterwards but do eventually have some to throw out. THIS is now on my radar screen. I’ll have to plug this over at Facebook. Because when I lived in San Francisco, I was pretty fantastic about recycling. They had an amazing curbside recycling program that included paper like for all the junk mail we get, just rip the plastic window out of envelopes, and they were all recyclable curbside. Easy Peasy. I love easy peasy. But not everywhere else has been quite so amazing about making it easy for people to recycle. And yet with Whole Food Markets all over the place, this is an incredibly useful and super relevant helpful post about practical ways to be green for just about anyone in The States at least with Whole Foods Markets likely within a reasonable driving distance of where they live.
Happy Dating and Relationships,
April Braswell
What an awesome informative post!
Thank you so much for all this amazing info.
Interesting the recycle of Brita starting too.
Create a great day!
Time to Care for the Caregiver Now?
[…] now you know that the “gimme 5” slogan is used to collect polypropylene items for […]
Hello. Not sure if you are still updating this post, but just to confirm as of July 2017, there are STILL no ways to recycle these filters in Australia (https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10155429400189719&set=p.10155429400189719&type=3&theater). It’s very disappointing to know this. I won’t be buying anymore.
I agree, that is extremely disappointing. Brita’s comment is that there is insufficient demand in Australia. I find that hard to believe – but a petition was started to request recycling facilities. It needed 10,000 signatures, and got just 30. So perhaps I can see where Brita is coming from. Even so, it is ridiculous that a large company cannot set up recycling in at least the major cities in Australia. If they want to be viewed as a caring, eco-friendly company, it’s the least they can do. Thanks for your comment – I’ll keep an eye out, and please update me if you find out any more.
We are not able to send comments without picking a product. I did not have a problem with a product. I had a problem with not being able to return used filters the normal way, with a PrePaid Label. I selected “How to return Brita Filters in Canada” – your website says click on “prepaid shipping label and bar code” – However, this feature does NOT work ???
Hello Donna, thanks for your comment! I’m not sure what you mean when you talk about choosing a product – This EcoFriendlyLink website is not associated in any way with Brita. We help people live more sustainable lives – and one way to do that is to recycle water filters.
This article was quite old, so I have updated it with new information. For Canada you can now recycle Brita cartridges via Terracycle, all the details are now there. Hope this helps!
[…] And if you do have a water filter, see if you can recycle it where you live. […]
I cannot seem to find a way to recycle Brita filters from Montreal, Canada. Why should I not believe that the Terracycle website is just a vehicle for mining personal information when they inform me after I have jumped through all the hoops of registering that they have no more ‘slots’ available. Very unimpressed! I no longer use Brita filters because their useful life have drastically decreased and now I have these recycling issues to boot! Bah!
That’s terrible Ralph! I hope you have let them know, because that’s really unacceptable. I’m really sorry to read that.
same here, Ralph. Jumped through many hoops only to be told the program is full. feels like a cheap grab of personal information. What a shame, looks like i’ll have to just throw them out.
Ugh, that really is horrible. Here’s an alternative for Canada – although to be honest, I don’t know how good it is.
If you live near a London Drugs store, I’m told you can drop them off there.
Alternatively, Brita has apparently partnered with Preserve for recycling. Here’s what to do –
1. Dry out 3 used Brita filters
2. Wrap them in plastic (ugh), and ship them to Brita, preferably in the original box.
3. The Preserve website https://www.preserve.eco/ has a link to a prepaid shipping label to print and affix to the box.
The Preserve recycling facility is in New York, so Brita Canada apparently ships them large batches of used filters a couple of times a year. Preserve will then recycle both the plastic and the active filter elements.
I’ll update my original article to include this info for Canada.
I hope this helps!
[…] Purchase a water filter or Brita if you’re worried about your drinking water. Brita recycles filters, making this an even better option.
[…] check with the store where you bought it: brita takes back filters, REI takes back old clothes and shoes, patagonia takes items to repair. Many other companies take […]
I would recommend the Aquagear filter system (available on Amazon). It’s initially more expensive but it lasts a lot longer ie at least a year, filters out more impurities and is also recyclable. I’ve given up on Brita. I will never touch that product ever again!!
RA
Hi Ralph, I can fully appreciate your feelings! I’ve updated my post to reflect your recommendation for Canada, thanks for telling me about it, it’s good to know!