The Green Round-up: A Look at Hi-Wire Brewing’s Sustainability Initiatives

Since first opening our doors in 2013, a lot of growth and change have happened here at Hi-Wire, and it has been exciting to say the least! We’ve expanded our taprooms into new locations, grown as a team, and added a slew of new, delicious beers to our repertoire. But something we might be most proud of is our growth in sustainability initiatives. 

In 2021, there were an average of 181 million barrels of beer brewed in the US. And with that industry number, we know there’s inevitably a large amount of waste that comes with it. While we only brew a fraction of that amount here at Hi-Wire, we’re committed to doing our part to support the health and longevity of our community and our planet. So, we wanted to share a round-up of our ongoing sustainability initiatives.  

Recycling Cooperative with Sierra Nevada

In 2022, we linked up with Sierra Nevada to be a part of a recycling co-op initiative that they spearheaded. With a grant from Sonoco Recycling and support from many other awesome breweries in Asheville (Zillicoah, Wicked Weed, Bhramari, Asheville Brewing, Burial, Buchi, and New Belgium) we were able to collaboratively install a recycling facility in Candler that allows us to break down some of our harder-to-break-down materials.

To give you a deeper dive, here’s a rundown of some of the products that are now easily recycled. Fun fact: none of the items below were recyclable in a single-stream recycling process before this collaborative initiative. 

• Polypropylene (PP#5) – malt bags, keg caps, plastic bottle caps, tier sheets
• Low density polyethylene film (LDPE #4) – stretch wrap, plastic wraps, bubble wrap
• Polyethylene terephthalate strapping (PET #1) – plastic strapping that’s typically used to hold materials to pallets
• High density polyethylene (HDPE #2) – buckets, drums, and PakTech can holders 

As you can imagine, we use a lot of these products during brewing, production, and shipping, so having a one-stop shop to be able to recycle all of these materials has been a game-changer for us and for our Asheville community of breweries. For example, Hi-Wire alone dropped off 17,140 pounds of recycled materials in our first year, from when we started the program in December 2021 to December 2022!

In 2025, Asheville-based Curbside Management, also known as Curbie, acquired Sonoco Recycling’s Candler, North Carolina, facility and now handles all of the co-op’s recycling.

PakTech Recycling

When you pick up a Hi-Wire 6-pack, you might be so excited to crack open a cold one that you rip off the cans without noticing or thinking about the packaging. But next time you grab a 6-pack, we challenge you to take a second to check out the can carrier. These little holders are produced by PakTech, a manufacturing company that uses recycled HDPE plastic to create 100% recyclable packaging handles and automated application equipment.   

Unfortunately, because of their shape, these little carriers don’t always get sorted properly at recycling facilities, so we decided to do something about it to make recycling easier. 

We accept PakTech carriers for separated recycling at all Hi-Wire Brewing taprooms. So come by and see us for a brew and drop off your carriers! We’re making it easy on you. 

In the first quarter of 2026, Hi-Wire Brewing will transition to using Craft-Pak® Versa Can Carriers, a 100% biodegradable can carrier that uses approximately 50% less plastic than competitor handles. These new can carriers fully decompose in months rather than years, so you can discard them with peace of mind.

Recycling Paper Products with Curbie

After our previous partner, Asheville Waste Paper Co. was destroyed in the flooding caused by Hurricane Helene in October 2024, we sought a new method for recycling cardboard and paper products — and we didn’t need to look far to find the perfect solution. Curbie, the recycling facility that processes all of the harder-to-break-down materials in the Western North Carolina Brewery Recycling Cooperative, stepped in as our single-stream recycling provider, thereby limiting the number of pickups and drop-offs required to process all of our recyclable materials.

Taking Care of our Local Environment in Asheville

Our little mountain town of Asheville is near and dear to our hearts. To give back and take care of our local environment, we decided to adopt Meadow Road which runs in front of our Biltmore location. Yes, we’re officially parents, and we even have signs out front from the city to prove it! 

Staying Accountable for Our Carbon Footprint

What is a carbon footprint, and why does it matter? Well, let’s talk about what it means first. In simple terms, a carbon footprint is the total amount of greenhouse gases (including carbon dioxide and methane) that are generated by our actions. In the United States, the average carbon footprint per person is 16 tons, which is A LOT. We know we can do better, and here at Hi-Wire, we’re challenging ourselves to stay accountable for our footprint as a company. 

In 2022, we went through a carbon footprint audit of our Asheville facilities. We calculated how much energy we consumed in terms of natural gas and electricity and then compared ourselves to other mid-sized breweries in the area. It was eye-opening and showed us areas where we can improve. 

Hi-Wire Brewing’s Ongoing Sustainability Goals

There’s always room for improvement, right? And even though we’ve come a long way, we also know there’s more to do! So we’re always striving to expand our sustainability initiatives across all of our brewing operations and taproom locations. 

One step at a time, we’re making progress, and we’re so grateful for your support as we learn, grow, and improve our sustainability initiatives. Cheers!