Edmonton gives you two real ways to turn empties into cash: haul them to a bottle depot yourself, or have them picked up from your door. Here is an honest comparison.
May 13, 2026 · 3 min read
Edmonton has bottle depots spread across every quadrant of the city. They take walk-ins, they pay out on the spot, and there is no minimum — bring one bag or twenty.
The trade-offs are the familiar ones. You load the vehicle, drive there, and often wait, because depots get busy on weekends and at month-end. You also sort the containers yourself, or use an express counting lane that takes a cut for doing it.
If you have a small return and you are already driving past one, the depot is fine.
A pickup service comes to your home, takes the bags, counts every container, and sends your refund digitally. No driving, no lineup, no sorting.
The catch is usually the fee. Most pickup services charge a flat percentage — often around 30% — on every refund, large or small.
DepotDash works differently: $0 fee on any pickup over $10, and 20% only on pickups under $10. For a typical household haul, that means you keep the entire deposit.
It comes down to how much you have saved up and how much you value the trip:
Book in the app, pick a day and a time window, and leave your bags out before it starts. We count everything and e-transfer your refund within 48 hours.
We cover Edmonton plus Sherwood Park, St. Albert, Spruce Grove, Stony Plain, Leduc, Beaumont, and Fort Saskatchewan.
A step-by-step guide to running a bottle drive fundraiser in Edmonton — for schools, teams, churches, and community groups. No depot parking lot required.
What you can return for a deposit in Alberta — cans, bottles, Tetra Paks, milk jugs and more — plus what does not count, and why you never have to sort.
Alberta bottle and can deposit rates explained — 10¢ and 25¢ per container, what a typical bag is worth, and how to get every cent back.
Five minutes to book. Forty-eight hours to e-transfer.
