Apr 26 - Consumer Recycling Options to Increase Under Proposed Bill

Cartons are a growing commodity and highly recyclable. According to an article in Food and Beverage Packaging over 50 million households now have access to carton recycling in their local recycling programs.

The end market provides a good source of revenue for recyclers.

"The fiber that comes from cartons is high-quality. In fact, a new PSI specification grade, #52, was recently created for cartons. Status as a Paper Stock Industry (PSI) commodity grade is only granted when industry demand and commodity value justify it."

AB 1001 (Gordon) would add aseptic and paperboard beverage containers to California's successful Bottle Bill program. This will provide consumers with more choices and improve recycling rates. It will complement the curbside programs by giving consumers more convenient opportunities to recycle than just curbside recycling programs alone. In addition, the materials collected through deposit programs are of a much higher quality than materials collected through curbside recycling programs. This provides better feedstock for recyclers.

AB 1001 is in Assembly Natural Resources Monday, April 29, at 1:30 p.m. Watch the hearing online.

Find out more about California’s nation-leading Bottle Bill here.

Photo Credit: Emmet County, Michigan.