Meaning & use
bottle bank
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountableBritish
A large container in a public place where people can leave empty glass bottles and jars to be recycled.
Grammar: Countable: you can say 'a bottle bank', 'the bottle bank', or 'bottle banks'.
Patterns
- take something to the bottle bank
- at the bottle bank
- a bottle bank for glass
I took all our empty wine bottles to the bottle bank this morning.
The council has installed a new bottle bank near the supermarket.
Please rinse the jars before you put them in the bottle bank.
Word forms
| plural | bottle banks |
|---|
Common combinations
- take something to the bottle bank
- Can you take these bottles to the bottle bank on your way out?
- a bottle bank for glass
- The sign said it was a bottle bank for glass only, not plastic.
- recycle something at the bottle bank
- We recycle all our glass at the bottle bank in the car park.
- the local bottle bank
- The local bottle bank is full, so we'll have to come back later.
Synonyms and how they differ
- recycling bin
- A more general term used in both British and American English for any container for recyclable waste, not just glass bottles.
- glass recycling point
- A formal way to say the same thing, often used in official notices.
Word family
Commonly confused: bottle bank or bottle bank vs. food bank?
bottle bank vs bottle bank vs. food bank
A bottle bank is for recycling glass; a food bank is a charity that gives food to people who need it. Don't mix them up.
Practice
Where should you take empty glass bottles to be recycled?
Choose one answer.
The bottle bank is the place for recycling glass bottles. A food bank gives food to people, a river bank is the land at the edge of a river, and a blood bank stores blood for medical use.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “bottle bank”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.