Plastic vs. Cardboard Milk Containers
Decatur Metro | July 26, 2011One is made of plastic. The other can’t be recycled.
So which one has less of an impact on the environment?
- rss
One is made of plastic. The other can’t be recycled.
So which one has less of an impact on the environment?
There’s a third option that has the makings of a good joke.
That’s the very dilemma that drove me to switch to wine.
I’m shocked that styrofoam is used in the lunchrooms in Decatur!!!
Milk seems to stay fresher in a plastic jug. And the jugs can be reused to mix up plant fertilizers and insecticides.
Wait a second; waxy cardboard containers can’t be recycled? The next thing you’ll say is that pizza boxes, light bulbs, and batteries are excluded.
http://www.decaturga.com/index.aspx?page=108
I have been rinsing and putting our cardboard milk containers in the recycling bin for years… what happens to them?
In some cases, ALL of your recyclables wil be treated as garbage if there are non-recyclable items mixed in.
I worked for Emory Recycles on the sorting lines for 5 years. Any cardboard designed for contact with food or drink (i.e. juice boxes, milk boxes, takeout containers, etc) or that’d been stained by oils (i.e. pizza boxes) were not only NOT recyclable, they were considered contamination by the vendors who bought what we’d collected. As a result, we often had to throw away entire 95 gallon carts worth of material because it’d been contaminated by non-recyclable stuff.
Those who say “well, the recycling truck picked it up, so it must be okay” should know that there’s a good chance they’re not only causing all their recyclables to get sent to a landfill, but also their neighbors.
What’s up? Nice response;)
Correct. The waxed cardboard containers cannot be recycled. The way in which the waxy coating (which is probably more likely a derivative of plastic than wax!) is combined with the paper to make it water proof apparently renders it un-recyclable. Pity. My question is whether the plastic-coated cardboard can biodegrade and, if so, how long does it take? Knowing that would help me to decide which substrate was preferable.
And yes, you’re also correct that the pizza boxes, light bulbs and batteries can’t be recycled here in Decatur with the curbside service, but the latter two CAN be recycled at other places. I haven’t used the recycling area at the Dekalb Farmers Market, but they might be able to take them. If not, I know that IKEA does and I believe most BestBuy stores have that type of recycling in their front entranceways.
As much as I try to avoid excess packaging, ziploc-style bags, and plastic grocery bags, I do think that buying a product in a recyclable container is preferable to one that isn’t recyclable and won’t break down quickly and easily in a landfill. Tough choices, but I’m glad to see that we’re all thinking about them!
It depends on, among other things, how biodegradable the waxy cardboard really is and also whether either container gets re-used in any way.
Am I the only one who occasionally harbors a secret longing for the olden days when it wasn’t necessary to examine your conscience every time you started to throw something away?
I just wish it was all more straightforward. To me, cardboard is cardboard and plastic is plastic and the more complicated it gets, the less likely it is that our family will do a good job with recycling. Me and my better half can look at the same object and come to completely different conclusions as to whether it is recyclable or not.
We sorta gave up that luxury when we let all the other modern day luxuries into our life!
In Toronto we were told that the paper milk containers went into the metals bin!?! Considering what milk costs there, I think the vessel should be porcelain.
Well, I would rather put my milk cartons and pizza boxes with the recycle bins (since it gets picked up anyway) than pay to put it in one of the trash bags. Only things that go in our trash bags are food scraps (we do not compost – yet at least) and diapers. Everything else seems to get picked up by the recycle truck.
We need a dairy farm to do growlers.
+1 x gazillion
Wonder what they’d have to charge?
Something tells me that, just as beer growlers were deemed illegal for a long time, milk growlers are too. Heck, you can’t even buy raw milk cheese (I think).
I remember the days when I delivered the Morning Call in the early hours of the day. Me delivering my recyclable newspaper and the milkman delivering milk in reusable glass bottles. We were the only ones up in the hood.
Mathis was still delivering to the front door in the late ‘80s. I was a customer, although that was mostly for the nostalgia of it. I can’t remember exactly when they stopped.
Oh DM – the yellow/green fill in your response I like!
Nubbs, please re-read what Cramer posted above. Just because the truck picks it up does NOT mean it’s getting recycled. In fact, not only is your stuff not getting recycled if it’s contaminated with non-recyclables, but you are also condemning your neighbors’ efforts to the landfill. And I am not trying to pick on Nubbs here! I frequently am uncertain about whether a given item can be recycled. Honestly, when in doubt, I throw it out. I guess I figure it’s better for one small recycle item to end up in a landfill than for an entire truckload of otherwise recyclable items to have to be re-routed to a landfill because I guessed wrong.
Um, while we’re sort of on the subject, what to y’all do with old VHS tapes? Can those be recycled? If so, where? If not, is it horrible to throw them away? Obviously, they will take up space in a landfill, but are they also full of toxic chemicals that will leach into our water?
With the understanding that pizza boxes were not recyclable I usually put our used pizza boxes on top of or beside the garbage can that holds the blue plastic bags required by the city and I have watched the guys working City of Decatur’s recycling contractor walk over a pick them up and throw them into the back of the trucks. I also watched one time when I had placed about a dozen pieces 4×4′ masonite that was covered in paint splatters (I used the masonite to cover the floors while painting) and the recycling guy picked up all of the pieces and threw them in the back of the recycling truck. It seems to me that either the contamination rules are fairly lax or the guys picking up are not really trained in what to pickup and not to pickup or the contractor is getting paid by the city by the pound and there might be incentive to throw whatever they can into the trucks.
reflect on this- The number of plastic milk bottles used daily in the CSD lunchrooms in addition to the number of styrofoam serving trays. A true can of worms!
-Just thinking about that today!
Pratt Industries has a paper recycling facility in Conyers. My husband is an independent contractor there and worked on the construction of the facility. Pratt recycles ALL PAPER! That’s all. Wax coated paper is more difficult on the paper machine and may need to be steamed in order to remove the wax, but it most definitely can be recycled. Below is a link to their site explaining the process & specifically stating that pizza boxes are recyclable. There is also a picture of a cardboard milk jug.
My understanding is that the contractor we use for home pick up does not accept these items. I’m not sure why, but I’m putting a call in to them. I strongly suspect, due to the proximity, that Latham sends their paper to Pratt.
There are a lot of misconceptions about paper recycling and I’m on a mission to get those pizza boxes out of the landfill.
Regarding the sorting, most recycling facilities now use electronic sorting which is why we are able to co-mingle our recyclables. I don’t believe the machine recognizes pizza boxes as something different than the Amazon box next to it.
If Latham doesnt accept all paper, then I think Decatur needs to consider a different contractor.
http://prattindustries.com/pi_Recycling.asp
And another thing! Pratt accepts garbage to burn in the boiler that powers their plant. So, in essence, your garbage is also recyclable.
I went to the link, but I am still confused. I saw the part where they say they take pizza boxes sans the pizza but they also state under “Two easy ways to save the environment” that they don’t take waxed cardboard. Maybe there is a difference between waxed cardboard and the containers milk and oj come in? I also see that windowed envelopes are accepted. I have been throwing those in the garbage for years.
Maybe it is time the city updates what items are currently recyclable and what what items would contaminate the recyclables.
I’m going on what my husband tells me actually goes on over there. I talked with the city, but they say Latham doesn’t accept pizza boxes and other “contaminated” paper. When I have a minute, I’m going to try to call Latham. It’s very frustrating to know how this paper recycling stuff works in practice and see so many recyclable items being sent to the landfill. According to my better half, even used paper towels have a little bit of usuable fiber in them.