The Carton Council of North America (www.CartonOpportunities.org), a group of carton manufacturers united to deliver long term collaborative solutions in order to divert valuable cartons from the landfill, has been awarded the 2013 Bow and Arrow Award for Coalition Building by the California Product Stewardship Council (CPSC).

“We are honored to be recognized by the California Product Stewardship Council for the Bow and Arrow Award,” says Jason Pelz, vice president, environment, Tetra Pak North America, and vice president of recycling projects for the Carton Council of North America. “This reiterates the tremendous progress made in California, and the rest of the country, in building the pipeline for carton packaging recovery. We’re delighted to receive this award as it indicates that our efforts have not gone unnoticed in the industry. We look forward to continuing to expand infrastructure and access for carton recycling both in California and throughout the nation.”

Since forming in 2009, the Carton Council has partnered with mills and recovery facilities across the country, including at least 17 facilities in California, where access to carton recycling is expected to reach 70% by the end of 2013. The Carton Council has invested $1.5 million to drive recovery in California, expanding the local infrastructure to collect and sort cartons and promoting awareness of carton recycling in major cities like Los Angeles and San Diego.

Including cartons as part of every curbside recycling program offers a better, more cost-efficient alternative than other proposed recovery solutions.

“We are so pleased to spotlight the contributions of businesses and organizations like the Carton Council that are truly product-stewardship stars and are creating recycling jobs in California,” says Heidi Sanborn, executive director of CPSC.

CPSC has recognized the Carton Council’s efforts in building strong, effective partnerships not only between competitors in carton manufacturing, but also across the entire recycling supply chain with recycling professionals, sorting facilities and paper mills. This proven formula for success is focused on “building the pipeline” for carton recycling access, which has been shown to effectively grow recycling infrastructure in 45 states across the country.

“We are leading by example through an effective voluntary producer responsibility model, says Pelz. “Our goal in California is to see that cartons are part of every curbside recycling program. This award demonstrates that we are on the right path and that the industry is taking notice of our efforts.”

The Carton Council currently has a campaign designed to help counties, municipalities and recyclers in California, as well as the rest of the country, bring carton recycling to their residents.