Global LifeScience Ambassadors

Why are BRITA filters recyclable in Europe but not North America?

 

In North America, The Brita Products Company is owned by The Clorox Company.

 

 

Brita has the #1 market share of pour-through filter cartridges in the U.S. and Canada. It's the #1 faucet-mount filter in Canada and the #2 faucet-mount filter in the U.S. (Per Clorox's 2007 Annual Report.)

 

 

While the original European Brita GmbH company has created a take-back recycling program for its filter cartridges, Clorox has no such program in place for re-using or recycling Brita cartridges.

 

 

There is currently no way to refill or recycle Brita filter cartridges in North America.

 

 

In its FilterForGood campaign, Clorox promotes the use of its Brita filtration system, in combination with re-usable water bottles, as a means to reduce disposable plastic bottle waste. Please join us in asking Clorox to go further and take responsibility for the millions of plastic filter cartridges that are also landfilled or incinerated each year.

 

What you can do...

 

1. Sign the petition.
2. Write a letter to Clorox executives.
3. Send us your used filter cartridges.
4. Spread the word!

To date, the campaign has been endorsed by Sierra Club, Co-op America, Grassroots Recycling Network, Californians Against Waste, Green Sangha, and other organizations and bloggers.