Four Loko Recycled Into Fuel Ethanol

Widely banned drink proves useful after all
By Nick McMaster,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 7, 2011 3:08 PM CST
Four Loko Recycled Into Fuel Ethanol
In this Nov. 10, 2010 file photo, Four Loko alcoholic energy drinks are seen in the cooler of a convenience store, in Seattle.   (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, File)

With Four Loko banned in many states and being voluntarily pulled from shelves in others, there's quite a few cans of the stuff lying around in warehouses around the US. What to do with it all? Wholesalers from a number of southern states have been converting their excess stock into ethanol, with the help of MXI Enterprises, one of the three companies in the US that operates ethanol-recycling facilities, the AP reports.

The scores of Four Loko cases lying around "could go directly into a landfill or incinerator or some other waste process that's not as environmentally friendly, so I think it's a good thing," says MXI's VP.
(More FDA stories.)

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