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U.S. carton recycling continues to grow

Through the efforts of the Carton Council and its partners, more than 58% of U.S. households now have access to carton recycling, and end users are clamoring for more material.

Today, nearly 67.8 million U.S. households have access to carton recycling.
Today, nearly 67.8 million U.S. households have access to carton recycling.

The packaging industry is constantly evolving to be environmentally responsible. Additionally, as more Americans expect the brands they purchase to demonstrate sustainability, it is even more important that our industry works to help expand options that make it more convenient for consumers to participate in recycling their everyday goods. This includes food and beverage cartons.

Carton recycling in the U.S. is gaining momentum as access to it continues to increase and more Americans have the ability to recycle the food and beverage cartons they consume through their local curbside and drop-off programs. With the infrastructure in place, we can expand our efforts to ensure that cartons are being recycled.

There are two kinds of food and beverage cartons: aseptic (or shelf-stable), and gabletop. Along with juice, cartons are used for milk, soups, coconut water, beans, and even wine. Both types of cartons are recyclable. Food and beverage cartons actually represent some of the cleanest and what’s referred to as the best long-fiber remaining in the residential recycling stream.

Cartons are recycled in two ways. In the first process, once cartons have been consumed in American households and collected at the curb, they are sorted and baled at a materials recovery facility (MRF) and shipped to the paper mills. At paper mills, the fiber is extracted and separated in a machine called a hydrapulper, which resembles a giant kitchen blender. The pulp that comes out is used to make paper products such as tissues, paper towels, office and writing paper, and toilet paper. The residual aluminum and plastic can also be further recycled or used as energy in the recovery boiler at a paper mill.

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