Can You Recycle Milk Cartons? Here’s What You Need to Know!

on Jun 14, 2018, Updated Sep 08, 2023

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My kids ask me almost every day: can you recycle milk cartons? If you’re wondering the answer to that question too, here is everything you need to know about recycling food and beverage cartons!

Can you recycle milk cartons Here is everything you need to know about food carton recycling!

*This post was sponsored by the Carton Council as part of an Ambassador Activation for Influence Central and all opinions expressed in my post are my own. #RecycleYourCartons #IC*

Can You Recycle Food and Beverage Cartons? Here’s What You Need to Know!

I can’t tell you how often I see all kinds of food cartons in the trash instead of the recycling bin where they belong. If you want the 411 on food carton recycling, here are the answers you’ve been looking for! Don’t throw away those food and beverage cartons. They ARE recyclable and they do belong in recycling bin. How about juice boxes? Are they recyclable too? Yes, indeed! I have totally thrown away food and beverage cartons and other food cartons in the past, but today I’m answering the question, can you recycle food and beverage cartons cartons once and for all! Food and beverage cartons of all sorts are absolutely recyclable! Yes!

You’d almost have to be living under a rock these days not to have heard about the huge problem we have with plastics. Sadly plastics are overtaking our oceans and wreaking havoc on wildlife. More and more cartons are used for food storage these day! I even saw a lot of water in cartons instead of plastic bottles when I was at Expo West back in March!

And the good news is cartons are a great choice. If you’re trying to reduce plastic use at your house, start looking out for food packaged in cartons. You might be surprised by all of the options.

Food and beverage cartons are an eco-friendly choice. They’re made mostly from paper with a thin layer of plastic or sometimes aluminum, they are lightweight and compact, and they have low carbon footprint. With an average of 93% product and only 7% packaging, cartons use the least amount of materials possible, helping preserve our Earth’s precious resources. The great thing about recycling food and beverage cartons is that they are made into other paper products or chemical free environmentally friendly building materials! It’s a win-win to use and recycle food and beverage cartons!

What Types of Recyclable Food and Beverage Cartons are there?

A quick glance around my kitchen revealed a bunch of different types of food and beverage cartons. I have bought all of the following types of food and drink in cartons over the years and they are all recyclable!

soups cartons
broths carton
milk cartons
juice cartons
coconut cartons
wine cartons
cartons of 1/2 and 1/2
tomato cartons
cartons of beans

How Can You Recycle Food and Beverage Cartons?

It’s so easy to recycle food cartons! To recycle food and beverage cartons, all you have to do is empty them out and put them in recycling bin every time! It’s very easy to recycle since many recycling companies now accept straws and lids too. There’s no excuse not to toss your empty cartons in the recycling bin.

Wondering how the food and beverage cartons are recycled and what they’re turned into? Watch this quick video for the answers!

Curbside carton recycling is available to more than 62% of U.S. households, which honestly seems low to me. Use this zip code locator to find out if your local recycling center accepts cartons. My area in Iowa does accept cartons for recycling. I hope your area does too.