Good news for your recycling needs: The Philadelphia Streets Department & Mayor Michael Nutter announced you can now put carton containers (for milk, juice, soup, soy milk, broth, wine, etc) along with your single-stream recycling!

Philadelphia Carton Recycling Rules

The new “carton” category includes the waxy-looking (in reality, plastic over paper) refrigerated containers for milk and juice, and the unrefrigerated cartons that contain other liquids.

The carton recycling program roots from a public-private partnership with the Carton Council.  The Carton Council doubled the number of US households with access to carton recycling since 2008 – from 18% to its current 37%.  The cartons are lightweight and not expected to budge our current residential recycling rate of almost 20%.

The recycling puzzle is becoming more and more complete – Almost anything in consumer packaging can be put in your recycle bin, and you can bring styrofoam to the Northeast recycling center.  Readers, what do you want to think needs to be implemented in Philly’s recycling?

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Julie Hancher is Editor-in-Chief of Green Philly, sharing her expertise of all things sustainable in the city of brotherly love. She enjoys long walks in the park with local beer and greening her travels, cooking & cat, Sir Floofus Drake. View all posts by Julie Hancher