Recycle Brita Water filters

[lgss]

Preserve is now accepting Brita water filters which they will repurpose. Participating WFMs will accept them. See the Preserve website for participating locations. I contacted them to see if they plan to accept Pur filters in the future.

[LNG212]

Thanks for the info. While we have terrific water here in nyc, our pipes are old (very old). So DH and I use brita water filters. It would be great to recycle them.

[LindaWhit]

Thanks so much for the info! I'll make a note of it for my mom and me.

[MakingSense]

What do they do with them?

[lgss]

From
http://www.preserveproducts.com/recyc...
"Preserve will recycle each collected Brita® plastic pitcher filter casing into new Preserve products. The filter ingredients—activated carbon that reduces chlorine (taste and odor) and ion exchange resin that reduces lead, mercury, copper, and cadmium and zinc that might be found in tap water*—will be regenerated for alternative use or converted into energy."

[Samalicious]

Preserve will recycle each collected Brita® plastic pitcher filter casing into new Preserve products. The filter ingredients—activated carbon that reduces chlorine (taste and odor) and ion exchange resin that reduces lead, mercury, copper, and cadmium and zinc that might be found in tap water*—will be regenerated for alternative use or converted into energy.
*Substances reduced may not be in all users’ water.

Preserve has calculated that the benefits of keeping Brita® filters out of landfills and making them into Preserve products outweigh the impact of shipping them for recycling through this program. Read more about the environmental benefits of Preserve Plastic™ here.

Please note that, at this time, Preserve can only accept Brita® pitcher filters for recycling. No other brands are currently recycled by Preserve.

[MakingSense]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.
But WHAT is the "alternative use" that they talk about?
Paperweights? Driveway paving? Pencils?
Since it's "activated carbon," that is now filled with all the chemicals that it took out of the DC water that I pour through it, what are they going to do with it and how?
Isn't it toxic?

If they "convert it into energy," how will they do that?
It would take 100s of MILLIONS of these little filters to do that, UNLESS they just chuck them into the pile with other stuff that will be incinerated.

Is this a bunch of greenwashing BS???

[Samalicious]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, no need to patronize people who thought they were helping answer your question.

Having said that, you do raise an interesting point. I did a little looking and the only use I could find for the materials inside the filters was "treatment of water not intended for human consumption" which has an uncomfortable vagueness to it.

[MakingSense]

Sorry if you interpreted it as patronizing but I asked what I considered to be a legitimate question.
The answer was the posting of boilerplate from Preserve that came right off their website.
Isn't a little critical thinking in order when we see this "uncomfortable vagueness"?