Municipal Recycling

Chicago-based Tropicana, a division of PepsiCo, and Waste Management (WM), Houston, have launched a national initiative to increase the number of juice and milk cartons for recycling.

WM is accepting juice and milk beverage cartons at all of its recycling processing facilities across the country. The initiative begins the long-term goal of increasing beverage carton recycling to every community across the nation, which will be promoted through the Carton Council.

In areas currently accepting cartons, residents can recycle juice, milk, soy, broth and other beverage cartons by placing them in their recycling bins as part of their curbside recycling program.

For consumers who must separate recyclables, cartons can be placed with bottles and cans. Consumers can find out if their municipality accepts cartons by visiting www.recyclecartons.com. Consumers that do not have access to curbside collection of containers are able to go to www.thinkgreenfromhome.com to purchase an in-home recycling container.

Tropicana, Waste Management, Dean Foods (T.G. Lee Dairy, Horizon Organic and Silk) and the Carton Council (Evergreen Packaging, Tetra Pak, Sig Combibloc and Elopak) have launched a pilot in Tampa, Fla., to expand carton recycling and to educate consumers to recycle their cartons. Encouraged by the Florida pilot, the initiative is expanding to include all areas where WM has recycling processing facilities.

Waste Management separates the cartons from the other recyclables and sends them to secondary mills for recycling. Juice and milk cartons, like those used by Tropicana, are recycled through a process called hydropulping, which recovers the paper fibers for recycling.