Carton Recycling In The U.S.
Most of us recycle paper and plastic – but what about cartons? According to the Carton Council of North America, food and beverage cartons are recyclable. They can be transformed into new paper products such as tissue, toweling, printing, and writing paper and packaging. There are also full carton recycling facilities that use the entire cartons to produce sturdy, sustainable building materials, such as roof cover board and wall board. Their process utilizes zero chemicals or water, creating products that can be utilized for several decades. Both methods for recycling cartons contribute to a circular economy.
Here are some updated statistics on carton recycling in the U.S. and goals for 2025:
- The Carton Council is aiming to achieve a 25% carton recycling rate in the U.S. in 2025.
- 75% of American households now have access to carton recycling programs. That is a sharp increase, compared to just 18% in 2009 and 61% in 2019. Things are definitely headed in the right direction for carton recycling!
- There are plans to expand recycling programs to 16,254 schools in 2025. In 2019, there were just 10,836 school based carton recycling programs around the country.
Since cartons are made mostly of paper, they are a renewable resource and be reused forever and remanufactured into new products. Cartons are also lightweight and easy to transport, with just 94% of their weight going to product and 6% to the packaging itself.
There are two types of cartons – and both types are recyclable
The shelf-stable (aka “asceptic”) cartons are made of mostly paper, but also some plastic and a thin layer of aluminum are added to help the food inside stay fresh for a longer period of time. The shelf-stable cartons are found on store shelves for products like broth, wine, and juice. The refrigerated (aka gable top) cartons are made of mostly paper, but some plastic too. They are found in the chilled parts of the store for products like milk, cream, and egg substitutes.
Carton Recycling provides an additional revenue stream
A liquid extraction baler like our ExtractPack Pro can help you recycle full cartons or ones with residual liquid.
Does your business generate operational waste in the form of cartons? Are you a recycling facility or MRF that handles large volumes of this valuable material? Any Harmony Enterprises Inc. baler can be used to bale empty cartons, depending on the quantity of the material you are baling. Harmony manufacturers a full range of long lasting vertical and horizontal recycling balers to fit your exact needs, volume, and budget.
If you need to dispose of cartons full of product, or containing residual liquid, then you would want to invest in a Harmony liquid extraction baler where the cartons are perforated, drained, and baled, reducing the time, space, labor, and money needs for the recovery and recycling of out-of-date spec product.
Harmony’s ExtractPack liquid extraction baler line ranges from our smallest, manual fed ExtractPack that reduces the time needed for carton destruction by up to 7X from normal operation, all the way up to conveyor, hopper, and tipper fed automated options that include our ExtractPack Pro vertical baler, and our ExtractPack Plus and ExtractPack Max horizontal balers.
A Growing Market
Carton product testing in an ExtractPack Plus heading to a national dairy product manufacturer to help them recycle carton packaging from out of date full products.
All market indicators predict a growing market for carton recycling in 2025. This is due to increased demand for sustainability practices, consumer awareness, and the desire to include more recycled materials in packaging. Governmental policy changes also play a role in this forecast.
From a complete sustainability perspective, paper is in demand by paper mills and other companies that make recycled paper products. Even though there are layers of aluminum and plastic in with the paper, paper mills have figured out how to harvest the paper, which is extremely valuable and useful to make new products. Adding cartons to a recycling program increases waste diversion, reducing the need for disposal, and offers a potential revenue stream from the sale of cartons.
Does your community recycle cartons yet? Is your recycling facility using a Harmony Enterprises baler to bale cartons? We would love to hear from you! Call us at (507) 886-6666 or Contact Us today!
