Ever wonder if you can recycle those carton boxes carrying your fav coconut waters or wine categorized as “Tetra Paks”? We received this question from our reader (and friend!) Paige Wolf:

Not sure if you have already addressed this, but is there some definitive answer for whether Tetra Paks can go in Philly recycling? My husband drinks a ton of coconut water that comes in these things.

The short answer is that yes, tetra paks and cartons can be recycled in Philadelphia single stream collections (aka curbside.) The answer as to why is a little more complex.

Tetra Paks & Aseptic Packaging – Recycling Explanation

So why can we recycle cartons? We asked for a more detailed explanation from the Philadelphia’s Recycling Director, Phil Bresee. He explained the background:

“Aseptic packaging (juice, milk, soup,etc. cartons) makes up a much larger share of the food and beverage packaging stream in other parts of the world, especially Europe. Cartons were only recyclable in a few programs around the U.S., many getting mixed in with “mixed paper” bales, which include the lower value paper such as magazines, junk mail, newspaper circulars, etc.

The Carton Council (which is the trade organization that represents carton manufacturers in the U.S.) wanted to close the loop on their product.

They worked to build end markets and processing capacity, even investing hundreds of thousands of $ at a pop for MRFs to install the necessary systems to capture cartons (usually done so with optical sorting / scanners). Now about 50% of homes in the U.S. are able to recycle cartons, and the end-markets for them are pretty stable. While cartons make up a small fraction of the recycling stream, the Carton Council wrote the playbook on how brands or products can close their own loops by creating demand and and investing in processing infrastructure. It’s my hope that other packagers can apply lessons learned from carton manufacturers.”

Exciting, eh? Or likely way more than you thought about when you were chugging that coconut water.

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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