Do You Know How to Recycle Milk Cartons?

Yes, you can recycle paper cartons!

First, empty the carton, but 不要把它压扁. If the carton has a straw, 把稻草塞进去. 如果它有帽子， 把盖子旋回去 before recycling so it doesn’t become separated and turn into litter.

山形顶纸箱, or refrigerated cartons, are made of paper and plastic liner. They store refrigerated food like milk, juice and cream.

无菌纸盒, or shelf-stable cartons, are made of paper, plastic and aluminum liners. They store non-refrigerated food like soup, broth and wine.

Both types of cartons can be recycled.

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After you recycle your cartons, they are sent to a Materials Recovery Facility (MRF). The cartons are sorted out, baled and sent to 造纸厂 and 回收工厂. 

At 造纸厂，纸箱放在一个 水力碎浆机, where the paper is separated from the plastic and aluminum. The pulp is sent directly to the mill’s paper machine or dried into sheets that are turned into paperboard, 纸巾和纸板.

The plastic and aluminum go to different mills where they are turned into ceiling tiles, wallboard and sometimes even energy to fuel the mill.

At 回收工厂, cartons don’t get separated into paper and plastic and aluminum. Instead, the whole carton gets turned into building materials like construction board.

When Americans recycle just 30% of all 城市固体废物, it has the same effect on greenhouse gasses as taking 25 million cars off the road. 回收 cartons reduces waste in landfills and extends the useful life of paper fibers.

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大多数人 U.S. households have access to carton recycling through curbside or drop-off programs. 但是如果你 检查当地指南, and your community doesn’t accept them, here’s what you can do:

• 教育 your community on why it should start recycling cartons
• 邮寄你的纸箱 to a facility that does accept them
• 标志 这个请愿书 to bring carton recycling to you