Are milk cartons recyclable? I don't know, I'm asking.
J/K, I know the answer… now. I almost skipped milk cartons. I was like, this is gonna take two minutes because it’s pretty obvious. But no guys, I was very wrong. Milk cartons are mixed media (plastic/paper) and therefore aren’t accepted by some recycling programs. That means even if you are going through the process of dropping the carton in with your plastic recyclables, it may not even happen. Cartons should be placed with plastics and glass. Mind blown!
WHAT TO DO:
• Look on your favorite milk brand cartons to see if they are made by these brands Tetra Pak, Elopak, SIG Combibloc, and Evergreen Packaging. They are members of the Carton Council initiative (this is serious). I found the Evergreen Packaging logo on the inside of the folded top of my milk carton. Already winning! See reference below.
• Look for cartons that contain recycled materials. You will conserve energy by choosing a sustainable product package in the first place.
• Earth911 is an angel sent from heaven and you can check whether your local recycling program accepts cartons using your ZIP code.
If you are interested in learning more about cartons and their recycling process, Earth911 goes into great detail on the matter.
“Cartons require fewer natural resources to transport due to their efficient product-to-packaging ratio. On average, a product sold in a shelf stable carton is 94 percent product and 6 percent packaging. This means that fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions are reduced since products in cartons can be shipped using fewer trucks.”