NEW Malt Bag Take-Back Program at Country Malt Group in Vista, CA.
More Ways to Keep Malt Bags Out of the Landfill
San Diego Brewcycling is excited to announce a new collaboration with Country Malt Group to make it easier for breweries to recycle their empty malt bags.
As part of this program, Country Malt Group’s Vista location is now a community drop-off location for empty malt bags collected through SDBC’s malt bag recycling program.
And there's an added convenience for breweries already picking up malt from CMG: bring your empty bags along when you pick up your next order!
📍 Drop Off Your Malt Bags at Country Malt Group
Already picking up an order?
Bring your empty malt bags with you!
If you're already making a trip to Country Malt Group to pick up your malt, you can bring your prepared empty bags along and drop them off at the same time. It's an easy way to combine two trips and keep difficult-to-recycle plastic out of the waste stream.
Not picking up an order?
You can still drop off your malt bags!
The Country Malt Group Vista location is also available as a dedicated community drop-off during the following windows:
Tuesdays & Thursdays
8:00 AM–3:00 PM
You do not have to be picking up an order to use the drop-off during these hours, and you do not have to be a Country Malt Group customer to participate.
All brands of malt bags are welcome. Your bags do not have to be from Country Malt Group.
Why This Initiative Matters
Malt bags are one of the more challenging plastics generated by the brewing industry.
Most grain and malt bags are made from #5 plastic (polypropylene) and are not accepted through local curbside recycling programs. They can also cause problems in conventional recycling facilities, where flexible bags can become tangled in sorting equipment and contaminate other recyclable materials.
And unlike some other recyclable commodities, malt bags are a low-value plastic. Recyclers generally need the material to be clean, source-separated, and collected in significant volumes before recycling becomes feasible.
That makes it difficult for individual breweries to find a recycling solution on their own.
That's where collaboration comes in.
By bringing together breweries, suppliers, nonprofits, and recycling partners, we can aggregate enough material to create opportunities that aren't practical for individual breweries to pursue alone.
The new Country Malt Group drop-off location gives breweries another convenient way to participate—and helps us build the volume needed to keep this challenging material moving toward recycling.
🌾 Why It Matters to the Brewing Industry
Keeping malt bags out of the landfill isn't only about waste diversion.
When polypropylene is exposed to sunlight and weather over time, it can break down into smaller plastic particles and eventually microplastics. Plastic pollution can make its way into soil and water, creating concerns for the agricultural systems that produce the ingredients the brewing industry depends on.
Barley. Wheat. Corn. Rice. Hops.
A more sustainable brewing industry starts with protecting the systems that make brewing possible.
How to Prepare Your Malt Bags
A little preparation goes a long way in keeping the material clean and ready for collection.
1. Shake Them Out
Shake out any remaining malt residue. Bags should be as clean and empty as possible, and kept dry.
2. Remove the Liner (if applicable)
Some brands use a clear plastic liner inside the malt bag. If your bag has one, remove the liner before collection.
The liner is made from a different type of plastic and needs to be recycled or disposed of separately. It's quick and easy to remove.
3. Stack Them
Lay 10–20 empty malt bags flat and stack them neatly on top of one another.
4. Bundle Them
Place the stack inside another empty malt bag to create one bundled package for collection.
That's it! Your bags are ready to go.
What Happens After You Drop Them Off?
Collecting the bags is only one part of the process.
Once malt bags are collected, Plastic Beach, a fellow nonprofit working to advance solutions for difficult-to-recycle flexible plastics, currently provides transportation for the program.
Plastic Beach has been helping lead the way in soft-plastic recycling and is now helping us develop a recycling pathway for malt bags.
SDBC coordinates the collection network and works with industry partners to aggregate the material, while Plastic Beach helps move the collected bags through the next stages of the process.
Together, we're building the infrastructure needed to make malt bag recycling possible at a regional scale.
All Malt Bag Brands Welcome
You do not have to use Country Malt Group malt to participate.
Malt bags from all brands are welcome.
Whether your bags came from Country Malt Group or another malt supplier, they can be part of the collection effort as long as they're properly prepared.
Have Empty Malt Bags?
Bring them with you the next time you pick up your malt at Country Malt Group—or make a dedicated drop-off during their Tuesday & Thursday collection windows.
Country Malt Group – Vista
Tuesdays & Thursdays | 8:00 AM–3:00 PM
Together, we're making it easier for breweries to take action on one of the brewing industry's most difficult waste streams.
Country Malt Group × San Diego Brewcycling Collaborative
Fermenting change, one malt bag at a time.