Know your material

Milk cartons

There are two basic types of cartons: gable top and aseptic bricks. Gable top cartons are made from a layer of cardboard sandwiched between two layers of very thin polyethylene plastic. The manufacturers state that the carboard is "made from the waste products of the sawn timber industry using working forests that are replanted." Aseptic bricks (UHT or longlife packs) are a newer type of carton and are made from five layers: three of plastic, one of alufoil and one of cardboard. The products in the cartons are sterilised before being packaged and, as the cartons fully seal the contents, they do not need to be refrigerated before opening. This results in savings in energy during storage and transport.

It is often wrongly believed that milk and other bevarage cartons are not recyclable because of plastic lining. Methods has been developed to recycle the pulp from the cartons and they have been recycled in countries in Erope, Japan, Austraria, and some communities in U.S. In 2000, 200,000 tonnes, equivalent to a recovery rate of 21% of all beverage cartons placed on the European market, among which 66 % of Germany was the highest. Recycled cartons are used to make toilett paper, faicial tissues, kitchen papers, office papers, etc. Six 1 litter cartons make one roll of toilet paper (65m.)

After collection, the cartons are baled at recycling depots and then trucked to a paper recycling factory. The cartons are debaled, checked for contamination and placed with water in a machine called a hydrapulper (like a giant blender).
In this machine, the cartons are broken up and the plastic and foil separates from the paper fibres. The fibres are extracted and filtered to remove minor contaminants and can be used directly, without bleaching, to make high quality recycled office and copy paper. The residual mixture is fed into a huge rotating drum with mesh on the outside. Water passes through the mesh, leaving the plastic and foil behind. As the rotating drum slopes downwards, the plastic and foil continues to move along the drum until it falls into a pit, where it is collected, baled and finally discarded. The water is recovered and reused.

How to recycle?

Recycled PET(REPET) bottles are used to make fiber, sheet, film, bottles, resin, In 2002, the recycling rate of PET bottles in USA was19.9%.

High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) bags - The thin ‘singlet-style’ bags used by over 80% of retailers. This plastic can easily be recycled. Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE) bags -The thicker bags used by less than 20% of retailers, usually department and boutique stores. These bags are not currently recycled. Just 8.7 checkout bags contain enough embodied petroleum energy to drive a car 1km. Non-biodegradable plastics bags can last in the environment for up to 1,000 years.

Plastic grocery and produce sacks are commonly, but not always, made from plastic types #2 or #4. These bags are often collected in barrels at grocery stores, and usually end up as plastic lumber. Collection is not particularly profitable.

The film containers are constructed of virgin high density polyethylene (HDPE) plastic, a tough semi-rigid material commonly used for kitchen utensils, tools, toys, and numerous other applications. The plastic code for HDPE is #2. The lids are often different kind of plastics.

They are not commonly recycled by local community recycling programs. Kodak has a recycle program.

Recycling aluminium brings potential energy savings of 95%, reduces emissions by 99% and reduces the waste going to landfill.  Aluminium can be recycled indefinitely, as reprocessing does not damage its structure.  Aluminium is also the most cost-effective material to recycle.  The recycling rate for aluminium cans is higher than for any other used packaging material, worldwide over 50% of aluminium cans are recycled. In 2000 Switzerland and Finland had the highest recycling rate at 91%. Once recycled, the aluminum beverage can returns to the retailer's shelf as a new, filled can in as little as 60 days after collection. In those 60 days, the cans are remelted, rolled, manufactured, and distributed. Aluminum smelters, can manufacturers, recycling centers and scrap dealers are all good sources to return your aluminum cans, all paying competitive prices for scrap. Aluminum cans are traded like a commodity with price premiums being offered based on greater poundage recycled.

Recycling Guidelines

Comprehensive Procurement Guidelines by U.S. EPA

http://www.epa.gov/cpg/index.htm