Planet Ark - National Carton Recycling Campaign

	W H Y S H O U L D W E R E C Y C L E O U R C A R T O N S ? Over one billion milk and juice cartons are used in Australia every year, but only one in ten are currently recycled. In order to improve this figure, at the end of 1995 Planet Ark joined together with the milk and juice carton industry to work on a campaign designed to bring about real and measurable environmental results.
	T H E N A T I O N A L C A R T O N R E C Y C L I N G C A M P A I G N Spearheaded by Planet Ark, the National Carton Recycling Campaign is designed to help educate people about the recyclability of cartons. At the same time, it also encourages local councils to implement efficient carton recycling systems. W H A T A B O U T T H E P L A S T I C L I N I N G ? Many people think you can't recycle milk cartons because of their thin plastic lining, but this is easily removed during the recycling process. When they're recycled, a single 1 litre milk carton can be turned into five sheets of high quality office paper - this makes cartons a valuable recycling commodity. A U N I Q U E C A M P A I G N The National Carton Recycling Campaign is unique in that it's an environment group initiative led by Planet Ark and is sponsored by the carton industry - when the campaign was originally launched at the start of 1996, it was the first time that an industry body has co-operated at this level with an environment group.
	"The carton industry is committed to working with Planet Ark not only on educating the community, but also on expanding the recycling services and monitoring programs for carton recycling" says Gerard Van Rijswijk, Executive Director of the Association of Liquidpaperboard Carton Manufacturers (the ALC is the carton industry's environmental body). H O W M A N Y A U S T R A L I A N S C A N R E C Y C L E C A R T O N S ? Currently, more than half the population of Australia has access to kerbside recycling services for milk and juice cartons and records show that wherever there is a carton recycling service available, cartons are coming back. To get the point home about how people can do their bit for the environment through carton recycling, Planet Ark has been carrying out a major education campaign through TV, radio and the press. In November 1996, tens of millions of milk cartons also carried milk carton recycling messages. O T H E R N C R C - B A C K E D C A M P A I G N S The National Carton Recycling Campaign has also provided funding for a number of Planet Ark projects such as National Recycling Week and National Tree Day. The National Carton Recycling Campaign and Planet Ark also give away a quarter of a million carton tree planting kits free of charge to Australian kids every year.
	[How to Recycle Cartons] [Councils Recycling Cartons] [The Carton Recycling Process] [History of Cartons] [Make Paper from Cartons] [Planting Trees in Cartons] [Email us]