The Carton Council of North America (CartonOpportunities.org) is proud to announce the formation of a Carton Recycling Champions network, a group of companies committed to improving carton recycling. Inaugural members of the network include the following companies, all of whom are committed to improving carton recycling: Boxed Water Is Better; Crystal Creamery; Dean Foods; Fat Tuesday; GoodBelly; JUST Beverages; Kemps; Leahy-IFP; Pacific Foods; The ReWall Company; Turner DairyFarms and WhiteWave Foods.

“We have made tremendous strides since 2009, increasing access by more than 177%. Today, more than 50% of all U.S. households have access, which means they can recycle cartons in their communities either through curbside or drop-off locations. As access continues to grow, it becomes even more imperative that Americans know that cartons are recyclable, and the brands and retailers that reach these consumers are a critical partner in ensuring that is happening,” says Carla Fantoni, who oversees communications for the Carton Council and is also a vice president of communications for Tetra Pak, Inc. in the U.S. and Canada. “Carton Recycling Champions understand the role they have to play, and the role they are expected to play by their customers, and have enthusiastically joined with us to help promote carton recycling.”

Today, more consumers than ever expect the brands they purchase, and the companies they do business with, to actively do their part to support sustainability and environmental initiatives. A survey of American adults commissioned by CCNA and conducted by Research+Data Insights last fall further validated this point, finding that 86% of respondents say that they expect food and beverage brands to actively help increase the recycling of their packages. The survey also indicated that 76% of consumers look to the actual product packaging they purchase for recycling information—even before turning to other resources, such as a city website.

“Companies and brands are an important link to consumers so we created the Carton Recycling Champion program as a way to directly engage companies who share our interests,” Fantoni continued.

Carton Recycling Champions understand the role they have to play in helping ensure cartons are recycled. Not only have they demonstrated a willingness to help raise awareness about recycling and the recyclability of cartons to their customers, but they are also collaborating with the Carton Council on an ongoing basis about other ways they can make an impact.

WhiteWave Foods is one Carton Recycling Champion that has demonstrated a commitment to recycling. In fact, they were the first Carton Recycling Champion, and have been collaborating closely with the Carton Council for two years.

“Recycling is a message that everyone can get behind. Our consumers want to buy products in packages that can be recycled, and we, as a company know how important it is that we showcase the recyclability of the packages that we use,” says Blaine McPeak, president of WhiteWave. “The more we can talk, as an industry, and with consistency, about the environmental value of our packages, the better for everyone. We have enjoyed a long working relationship with the Carton Council and are pleased to see more and more companies getting involved to leverage our brands, which encourages participation.”

Companies can continue to sign up to be Carton Recycling Champions. There is no cost for companies to join, only a commitment to help support and promote carton recycling in any way that makes sense for that member, such as adding the carton recycling logo to their packages (if they have not already), promoting recycling on their social media channels and many other ways. Carton Recycling Champions will have access to materials to help their efforts, starting with a recycling badge they can place on their websites that can be linked to a simple landing page where consumers can find out about carton recycling in their community.

The Carton Council, a group of carton manufacturers united to deliver long-term collaborative solutions in order to divert valuable cartons from the landfill, credits this exceptional growth to voluntary private and public collaboration that includes industry companies and organizations, recycling facilities and local governments. Since 2009, the Carton Council has focused efforts on building infrastructure and improving access to carton recycling nationwide. At that time, just 18% of U.S. households had access to carton recycling. Currently, more than 58.3 million U.S. households have access to recycle cartons.

Made mainly from paper, a renewable resource, lightweight and compact in design and with a low carbon footprint, cartons have proven to be a sustainable packaging solution that is growing in use for a variety of liquid and food products.