Using a water filter is inherently good for the environment, but are there recyclable water filters?
When you begin your journey into the world of water filtration, you will be fascinated by the technology that exists as well as shocked by the contaminants that are regularly consumed in unfiltered tap water.
Water filters are eco-friendly, but are their cartridges recyclable?
The Best Recyclable Cartridges for Faucet Water filters are those that come from companies with their own recycling program (like Brita) or national recycling affiliates (like TerraCycle). Very few faucet water filter cartridges are recyclable at municipal facilities because the contaminants they contain could contaminate the rest of the recycling goods.
With that said, you might be shocked to find out that there are very few ways that you can recycle the cartridge for your standard faucet water filter, but you can choose to opt for a cartridge from a Brita water filter.
However, choosing eco-friendly water filter options that use water efficiently and have minimal plastic waste can make just as big of an environmental impact as choosing a cartridge from one of very few water filtration systems using a recycling program.
Let’s take a closer look.
Which Companies Recycle Water Filter Cartridges?
In case you were unaware, you cannot simply place your used water filter cartridge in your municipal recycling receptacle.
If you choose to do this, you could risk contaminating the entire batch of recyclables causing the batch to be disposed of at the local dump- creating more waste than if you had simply tossed out your water filter cartridge in the first place.
With that said, there are still some companies that have recyclable water filter cartridges or that pair with national recycling affiliates that create a more sustainable world.
So, which companies recycle water filter cartridges? Brita is one of the only remaining water filtration companies that offer a partnered water filter cartridge recycling program through a national recycling affiliate TerraCycle.
Other companies like Aquasana, Crystal Quest, and Pentair Pelican offer eco-friendly water filter options but require users to seek their own recycling solutions.
You might even find that some people recommend taking your water filter cartridge to your local Home Depot or another local hardware store to replace and recycle these faucet water filter cartridges.
Unfortunately, due to the high level of contaminants that these filters contain (after they have collected them from your water during the filtration process), most stores and companies have eliminated their own recycling program from standard customer availability.
Since the product has to be kept in such a precise mechanism and a precise procedure has to be followed to recycle these correctly without harming the individual separating the various filter components, most water filter companies have found that not only is this not cost-effective, but more resources are spent on trying to recycle the water filter cartridge than would be spent on the disposal of the water filter cartridge instead.
With this in mind, it is often better to consider eco-friendly faucet water filters from companies like Aquasana, Crystal Quest, or Pentair Pelican that can ensure a greater likelihood of a positive environmental impact.
For example, the Aquasana Claryum Direct Connect is an incredible eco-friendly under sink water filter option that connects directly to your existing faucet.
It has a positive environmental impact on the amount of water that it saves in its efficient use as well as the minimal plastic parts that it uses. In this way, it can be considered an even better alternative when choosing to go with a company besides Brita for your water filtration.
Or, you could opt for the Crystal Quest Faucet Mount Water Filter System (6 Stages) that can provide you with high-quality filtered water directly from your sink without the use of other plastic or other components required in the connection to your existing faucet.
This type of filter cannot typically be recycled by the individual user, but you can pair with a national recycling affiliate like TerraCycle to send this filter in to be recycled by a professional.
While neither of these companies offers their own recycling program, they do seek to find eco-friendly solutions that can help to reduce overall plastic waste (in addition to the number of water bottles they save from their filtration purpose, to begin with).
Can You Recycle a Water Filter Cartridge?
As you are seeking environmentally-friendly solutions to your drinking water and water filtration, it is no surprise that you are wondering what to do with your water filter cartridge when you need to replace it with a new one.
So, can you recycle a water filter cartridge? Some companies offer independent recycling programs, but most do not. It is difficult to recycle a water filter cartridge due to the toxins it contains upon the need to replace it.
Avoid separating the components yourself as this can lead to toxic exposure to various contaminants, and choose a national recycling affiliate like TerraCycle instead.
Importantly, while you might be tempted to take off the plastic parts and simply discard those in the recycling bin for your municipal recycling service, it is important to note that this can not only expose you to harmful contaminants (that were filtered from your water by your filter and are now stored at even higher concentrations), but these contaminants can render a pile of recycling contaminated and thus send them to the trash.
So, if you are wanting to recycle your water filter cartridge, be sure to check with the company that you purchased it from. Then, if they do not offer an independent recycling program, select to use a national affiliate program and you can do your part there.
Just remember, there is more than recycling the plastic parts of the water filter cartridge that goes into this recycling process.
Why is it So Hard to Recycle a Water Filter Cartridge?
It can be a bit frustrating when you are doing all that you can do to chip in your part for the planet.
After all, for water filtration companies that claim that they are environmentally conscious, why would they not help you in coming up with solutions to recycle the water filter cartridges?
So, why is it so hard to recycle a water filter cartridge? There are many associated costs that go into recycling a used water filter cartridge. Once it has been used, it contains a higher concentration of contaminants that have been filtered out from the water.
This requires a precise separation process for recycling the product. Shipping and fuel are other negatively associated environmental impacts.
It is helpful to first look at how these products are created and then to look at how recycling programs work with this type of product. It is not as simple as breaking off the plastic components and sending them to the municipal recycling plant.
Alternatively, this can become an incredibly complex scientific process to contain the contaminants that the filter has removed (and stored) from the water that passed through, all while attempting to collect the plastic parts and other recyclable materials for the remaining recycling process.
Specifically, as has been noted in other segments of this article, attempting to separate the materials yourself can result in harmful exposure to these toxins. With this, many water filtration companies recognize their limited capacity to appropriately recycle the products.
In addition to the lack of a contained environment, the financial resources to make this possible are often lacking (or not a priority to the company).
Along with that, many companies that used to offer pre-paid shipping labels to send back your water filter cartridges for recycling found that the overall environmental impact was negligible after starting the program.
Due to the fuel and other resources used in shipping the water filter cartridges to the recycling plant, there were more harmful impacts of this method of recycling than there were positive environmental effects.
Because of this, most companies opted to stop their water filter cartridge recycling program and instead choose to send customers interested in recycling their water filter cartridges to a national program that could handle this issue with a bit more ease and procedural sustainability.
In this way, the recycling program has become streamlined, and you will find that your largest environmental impact will likely not come from the recycling of the used water filter cartridges but from selecting an eco-friendly, sustainable water filtration system that uses minimal plastic, strong water efficiency ratings, and provides a longer filter life in the first place.
From this, the “use” and “reduce” components of protecting the environment become just as- if not more- important than the “recycle” component.