RECYCLE YOUR CARTONS
Borough of Phoenixville residents can recycle food and beverage cartons as part of your curbside recycling program. We are proud to expand the list of accepted recyclables and continue our mission to conserve energy and natural resources and protect the environment.
What are Cartons?
Cartons are a type of packaging for food and beverage products you can purchase at the store. They are easy to recognize and are available in two types: shelf-stable, which are found on grocery store shelves, and refrigerated, which are found in the refrigerated section of grocery stores. Both types of cartons can be recycled.
How to recycle cartons:
Recycling cartons is as easy as 1-2-3:
1. Empty your food and beverage cartons. (Pro tip: No need to rinse as long as you shake all those last drops of liquid or food out; this avoids having spoiled food or drink make a mess of your recycling at home or at the recycling facility)
2. Add cartons to your recycling bin with other glass, metal and plastic containers. (Pro tips: don’t crush your cartons, keep the caps on, and push your straw back into those small milk or juice cartons)
3. Take your recycling bin to the curb on collection day.
What happens to recycled cartons?
Once the cartons are collected, they are separated from other recyclable materials at the recycling sorting center. From there, they are either used to create paper products, such as paper towels and tissues, or building materials, such as ceiling tiles and roof cover board.
In order to make paper products, the carton components are packed together and sent to a paper mill, where the cartons are added to a large machine called a Hydrapulper that breaks the cartons down into component parts. The paper pulp is separated to make paper products, while the plastic and aluminum can be sent on for further recycling or used for energy to fuel the paper mill.
To make building materials, cartons go straight to a recycling company rather than being sent to the paper mill. All of the cartons, including the caps, are shredded into a million pieces and then pressed back together to create large sheets. Those sheets then become roof cover board and ceiling tiles and are used in building materials.
Learn more about carton recycling and how you can commit to recycling your cartons at recyclecartons.com.
