US carton recycling enters mainstream

United States – More than 53% of US households now have access to carton recycling, according to the US Carton Council. The figure is rapidly increasing. ‘Nearly 57% of all US households are expected to have access to carton recycling by end of 2015,’ the organisation predicts.

Carton recycling has grown 194% in just six years and is now accessible to 61 million people across 48 states. ‘A growing number of cartons are appearing on grocery shelves and consumers are demanding that they be accepted in their recycling programmes,’ the Carton Council notes.

The Council is a group of carton manufacturers which are collaborating to divert their products from landfill. Jason Pelz, vice president environment at one member, Tetra Pak, comments: ‘Our momentum from 2014 has carried over into 2015. In January alone, more than 500 000 households were added to the access count.’ ‘When I look at these numbers, and reflect on how far we have come, they demonstrate to me that carton recycling is truly becoming mainstream. We see that carton packaging is increasing in popularity across different food and beverage categories,’ he adds.

For more information, visit: www.cartonopportunities.org