Bottle
Drives

Bottle Drives can be great fundraisers

If you’re searching for a fun and easy way to raise funds for a charity, sports team, or field trip, a bottle drive is a great option.

The average bottle drive raises between $1,000 and $1,500, and some groups have even raised more than $3,000 in just half a day.

Hosting a Successful Bottle Drive

To host a successful bottle drive, we encourage you to follow the steps below.

Once you have your team established, choose a team leader for the bottle drive and assign roles for each group member.

We encourage you to book your bottle drive with us well in advance, and we’ll help answer any questions you may have about the process.

While your group can partake in the traditional method of going door-to-door to ask for refundable beverage containers, there are other ways to collect donations.

One method is to find a central location, such as a field or parking lot, where you can collect donations from the community. By booking your bottle drive with Nechako Bottle Depot well in advance, we can pick up the empties at the location you choose.

Another method is to drop off flyers around the community ahead of time so your neighbours can put their donations in front of their houses, where you can quickly swing by to collect them on your bottle drive day.

Your group can also decide to either let the bottle depot sort and count your refundable containers, or you can drop off pre-sorted and pre-counted empties. Soft drink and juice containers must be kept separate from containers for beer and other alcoholic beverages, and glass bottles should be packaged in cardboard boxes so the quantity can be easily checked.

Alternatively, you can set up a Return-It Express account for your group. Anyone wanting to donate can use the phone number linked to the account when dropping off their empties in a clear recyclable plastic bag. Their deposit refund will go directly to the fundraiser, making it an efficient option for groups wanting ongoing donations. More information can be found at return-it.ca/programs/express-fundraiser/.

Once you have decided on the date, area, and collection method, you can promote your bottle drive to the public through flyers and social media.

If you’re printing flyers, we encourage you to include the name of your organization, the reason for the bottle drive, the date and time of the event, the collection method, the containers being collected, and your group’s contact information.

Creating a Facebook event and inviting your friends and family is also a helpful way to raise awareness about your bottle drive.

If you have chosen a door-to-door or neighbourhood pick-up collection, divide the area into sections and assign collectors, drivers, and vehicles to these areas.

If you have chosen a central site or depot drop-off, we recommend that part of your team remains onsite to greet people who are bringing in donations.