Cartons Can Now be Recycled in Blue Sack Collections

31 May 2017

The frustration we have all felt when we finish a juice or milk carton and can’t put it in our recycling bags, has now come to an end.

From now on, South Hams residents can recycle the coated food and drink cartons in their blue recycling sacks.

This will be welcomed by many residents, who until now, could only take this kind of packaging to recycling banks and recycling centres.

Neil Greenhalgh, Operational Manager for Waste, explains the change: “We have listened to residents, reviewed suggestions, and made changes based on this feedback.

“This is a major milestone for recycling in the South Hams. Residents already recycle a lot of cartons at recycling banks and this will enable residents to recycle at home as well.

“When recycling coated cartons, it just takes two easy steps. First, rinse and squash the carton then pop them straight into the blue sack. Caps can be left on, because these are removed during the recycling process.”

In the UK, cartons are used for food and drink packaging and on average UK residents use 57,000 tonnes of cartons a year, roughly 2.4kg per household.

Cartons, such as Tetra Pak, are mainly made from wood fibre, which is a natural renewable resource. They are a low carbon packaging choice comprised of 75% paperboard, 20% plastic & 5% aluminium, and they are 100% recyclable.

Cartons collected go to the carton recycling plant in Halifax. The process takes advantage of the strength and quality of the wood fibres found in cartons by turning them into industrial-strength cardboard. This is then made into 100% recycled tubes and cores which are used as centres for wrapping products such as cabling, plastic film and wrapping paper.

ENDS