RICHMOND, Va. (AP) -- Hundreds of thousands of banned energy drinks that are part of a federal crackdown on the beverages are heading to a Virginia recycling center where they will be converted into ethanol and recycled aluminum and cardboard.
Wholesalers from several East Coast states started sending cases of high-alcohol, caffeinated drinks to MXI Environmental Service after the U.S. Food and Drug administration announced a crackdown on the sale of such beverages in November.
Brian Potter, vice president of operations at MXI's Abingdon, Va., facility declined to say how much of the product is coming to his plant, but said "it's in the range of a couple hundred trucks." Each truck holds 2,000 cases of the 23.5-ounce cans, and Potter said he has hired temporary workers to process the shipments and ready them for recycling.
