Paper Cartons Can Now Be Recycled in Fort Collins, CO

City of Fort Collins
April 26, 2012

Fort Collins residents can now add one more material to their recycling bins: paper cartons! Starting immediately, Fort Collins residents can include food and beverage cartons in their curbside recycling bins. In addition, these cartons can also be recycled at the commingled containers bins at the City of Fort Collins’ Recycling Drop-Off Site at 1702 Riverside Ave., behind the Rivendell School; and at the recycling drop-off site at the Larimer County Landfill, 5887 S. Taft Hill Rd.

Examples of cartons that can be recycled include shelf-stable cartons (e.g., juice, individual juice boxes, milk, soy milk, tofu, soup, broth, wine) and refrigerated cartons (e.g., milk, juice, soy milk, cream, egg substitutes). Paper cartons with and without aluminum linings can be recycled. Please rinse cartons and remove caps or straws prior to recycling, but there is no need to cut out any plastic spouts incorporated into the cartons. Do not include ice cream containers or paper cups in the recycling – they are made from different materials and cannot be recycled with the cartons.

“We’re excited that the Fort Collins community can now keep one more type of material out of the landfill,” says City of Fort Collins Chief Sustainability Officer Bruce Hendee. “Recycling cartons helps move our community one step further along the road to zero waste,” he adds.

After cartons are collected, they’re taken to a materials recycling facility to be sorted and baled. The bales of recycled cartons are then shipped to paper mills, where cartons are mixed with water in a gigantic blender to extract all the paper fiber from the plastic and aluminum. The paper fiber is then ready to be used in making new products, such as recycled office paper, tissues, wall boards manufacturing, and more.. The aluminum/plastic combinations left over from the shelf-ready cartons and the plastic left over from refrigerated cartons are used by some mills for generating energy or selling it to plastic manufacturers that use them for lumber board-like materials.

For more details, please see www.fcgov.com/recycling, or call 970-221-6600.