Greenstar expands carton recycling

Greenstar Recycling, a leading recycler in North America, has expanded its carton recycling program to include six markets. Communities across the U.S. are continually pursuing ways to expand their recycling streams and divert waste from costly landfills. Greenstar says the inclusion of new items in local recycling streams decreases waste volumes, increases recycling volumes, and can even create revenue.  

Through cooperative efforts with the Carton Council, Greenstar has helped six cities across the country expand their recycling offerings by adding carton recycling capabilities. The Carton Council is a group of united carton manufacturers to deliver long term collaborative solutions in order to divert valuable cartons from the landfill.  

Cartons are defined as food and liquid containers made of paper, a thin layer of plastic, and sometimes a thin aluminum lining. This includes milk and juice cartons found in the refrigerated case or cartons merchandised on non-refrigerated shelves, containing products such as juice, soy, broth, soup, wine and meal replacement beverages.

To maximize carton recycling, several of Greenstar's facilities installed new processing equipment. This equipment is able to recognize cartons and separate them from other items in the stream. Once separated, the cartons are baled and shipped to end users who break them down to create new paper products.

AS of September 2012, Greenstar’s carton recycling markets include: Akron, OH, Allentown, PA, Dallas, TX, Des Moines, IA, Pittsburgh, PA, and San Antonio, TX.

Greenstar provides sustainable recycling solutions in the recycle processing, commodity upgrading, managed services and commodity trading sectors of the solid waste market. Greenstar launched its North American operations in 2007. The company handles two million tons of recyclables per year, servicing over 12 million customers through a network of 15 processing facilities with over 10,000 managed services locations.

The Carton Council is a group of carton manufacturers united to deliver long term collaborative solutions in order to divert valuable cartons from the landfill. They are working with local government officials, recycling facilities, paper mills and communities across the United States to build a robust system to recycle liquid food and beverage carton packages. As of August 2012, the Carton Council’s Carton Recycling Access Campaign has resulted in increasing the number of households with access to carton recycling from 18 percent to nearly 40 percent. Today nearly 46 million households across the U.S. can recycle their cartons. www.recyclecartons.com.