Recovery of Post Consumer Cartons Washington State Recycling Association May 18, 2015
What are cartons? 2
Who is the Carton Council? A group of carton manufacturers united to deliver long term, collaborative solutions to divert valuable cartons from the landfill. Associate Member 3
Our Goals & Outcomes 4
Why Cartons? Why Recycling? 5
Cartons are sustainable Cartons are one of the most sustainable options for food and beverage packaging. RENEW Made mainly from paper Paper is a 100% renewable resource Fiber comes from well-managed forests REDUCE Light weight and compact Low package-product ratio Low carbon footprint through lifecycle RECYCLE Cartons are recyclable! 6
Cartons contain valuable materials Made with 100% virgin fibers, cartons contain some of the best fiber still in the waste stream. Refrigerated gable top cartons 80% paper 20% polyethylene Shelf-stable aseptic cartons 74% paper, 22% polyethylene 4% aluminum Cartons are Not Wax Coated 7
How Carton Council Achieves its Goals 8
Target the Recycling Supply Chain Our goal: Build carton recovery MATERIAL STRATEGY 9
Work Backwards from End Markets Build sustainable markets - Build the Demand Develop awareness and participation Fill the Pipeline Create sustainable infrastructure - Build the Pipeline 10
Building Sustainable Markets Building the Demand 11
Where to Start? Cartons are small volume, but valuable o.5% to 2% of incoming loads in successful programs o EPA estimates 500,000 tons of cartons per year in municipal waste stream. In 2008, only 1 active mill in North America handling cartons All components of cartons have potential value o poly and ply/al residual can be recycled into other products. 12
Cartons are recyclable Carton Recycling is Standard Practice Globally Over 140 mills taking cartons worldwide Cartons recycled in US for more than 2 decades Carton recycling is already available to more than half of US residents. 13
Building End Market Demand From 1 active mill in NA in 2008 to many that are now buying cartons, with more demand in pipeline Great Lakes Tissue GET 14
Pacific Rim End Markets Shin Chang & Paper Industry Co. Ltd, Chungchongnam Daewang Paper Co Ltd, Gunpo-si Samjung Pulp Ind. Co Ltd., Godeokmyeon Daewon Paper Co, Pochun Fiber Pattina, Thailand 15
Grade #52 Grade #52 officially recognized by recycling industry in April 2011 New PSI* Spec Grade #52 - Definition Consists of liquid packing board containers including empty, used PE coated, printed one-side aseptic and gable-top cartons containing no less than 70% bleached chemical fiber and may contain up to 6% aluminum foil and 24% PE film. Prohibitive materials may not exceed 2% Total out-throws may not exceed 5% *PSI = The Paper Stock Industries (PSI) Chapter is a national chapter of the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, Inc. (ISRI). It is dedicated to the recovered paper industry 16
Opportunities for Grade #52 Product Pacific Rim Mills North American Mills Source Material Tissue and toweling products Shin Chang & Paper Industry Co. Ltd, (S. Korea) Daewang Paper (S. Korea) Samjung Pulp (S. Korea) Daewon Paper (S. Korea) Great Lakes Tissue (MI) Kimberly-Clark (MX) Post-Consumer Cartons Factory (Pre-Consumer) Waste Filling Machine Waste ONP, OMG, white ledger, other grades De-inked pulp Fiber Pattana (Thailand) Fibrek (WV) Fox River Fiber (WI) GET (MX) Post-Consumer Cartons Factory (Pre-Consumer) Waste Filling Machine Waste ONP, OMG, white ledger, other grades Building products (wallboard, sheathing, ceiling tiles, roofing sheet) Fiber Pattana (Thailand) ReWall (IA) Post-Consumer Cartons Factory (Pre-Consumer) Waste Filling Machine Waste 17
Jan-09 Apr-09 Jul-09 Oct-09 Jan-10 Apr-10 Jul-10 Oct-10 Jan-11 Apr-11 Jul-11 Oct-11 Jan-12 Apr-12 Jul-12 Oct-12 Jan-13 Apr-13 Jul-13 Oct-13 Jan-14 Pricing for Grade #52 Carton pricing generally follows Sorted Office Paper (SOP) pricing varies by location of source, fiber mix, etc. Export pricing varies based on shipping container weights and locations strong export demand over 140 mills consuming cartons worldwide $350 $300 $250 $200 $150 $100 $50 $- Mixed Grade 52 Av. SOP Linear (Grade 52 Av. ) 18
How Cartons Move Carton Council is not a broker of materials Carton Council is a match maker Broker network and mills o Working with broker network works better in most cases o However it is possible to work directly with mills. 19
Key Measure of Carton Recovery Success Yield Defined as % of incoming tons of post-consumer cartons that are recovered and manufactured into new product Carton Bale o Average of 75% fiber very high quality, long virgin fiber, free of ink. o Mills able to recover up to 100% of fiber o Poly/Al fraction recovered by some mills 20
Markets Hierarchy Requires positive sorting of cartons into Grade #52 used for energy - Some poly/al Requires cartons to be accepted in recycling programs 21
Detailed Carton Yield by Market Type Priority Bale Type Mill Type Byproduct Fiber Yield Poly/al Yield Total Yield Highest Grade #52 Whole Carton Processing Highest Grade #52 Tissue Mill with Poly/Al Recovery Building Materials (e.g. board) Tissue, Toweling, Molded Products 90% to 100% 90% to 100% 90% to 100% 90% to 100% 90% to 100% 90% to 100% Highest Grade #52 Pulp Mill with Poly/Al Recovery Dry or Wet Lap Market Pulp 90% to 100% 90% to 100% 90% to 100% High Grade #52 Tissue Mill No Poly/Al Recovery Tissue, Toweling, Molded Products 90% to 100% 0% 70% to 79% High Grade #52 Pulp Mill No Poly/Al Recovery Dry or Wet Lap Market Pulp 90% to 100% 0% 70% to 79% High-Medium In Mixed Paper Mill with By-Product Energy Recovery Variety of Paper Products 90% to 100% 90% to 100% 90% to 100% Medium Low-Medium Not Acceptable In Mixed Paper In Mixed Paper Mill with No By- Product Recovery Mill without Good Match Technology Variety of Paper Products Variety of Paper Products 60% to 75% 45% to 55% 0% 45% to 56% 0% 33% to 42% Disposal Landfill None 0% 0% 0% Access Campaign Update 6/30/14 22
Examples of End Products Fiber Whole Carton products Poly products 23
View from a Mill Fox River Fiber in Wisconsin Pulping Process 24
View from a Mill The pulp is sheeted, baled and shipped to their customers. 25
Building the Pipeline Creating Sustainable Infrastructure Access Campaign Update 6/30/14 26
Impacts on Volume Resident Behavior Residents fail to put recyclable packaging in appropriate bin Collection Set-out recyclables don t end up in the truck End Markets Processing Materials don t end up in designated commodity bunker in MRF Bales are rejected/downgraded and commodity is processed 27
Create Sustainable Infrastructure Work with Facilities to Agree to take cartons Agree to report data to Carton Council - Household access and tonnages Positive Sort of Cartons at Facilities Capital equipment grants available, based on campaign s criteria 28
Create Sustainable Infrastructure Range of Solutions for MRFs o Manual sort with bunkers o Vacuum-assisted manual sort o Optical sorting Matching Right Solution to each MRF o Carton Council best practices drawn from experience with MRFs of all sizes o Working closely with equipment suppliers and MRF engineers o Connecting MRF to carton markets o Matching equipment grant to access gains 29
Create Sustainable Infrastructure Optional Assistance Offered Matchmaking with broker networks To include movement of bales/partial loads. Free promotional materials Support for customer outreach 30
Filling the Pipeline Develop Awareness and Participation Access Campaign Update 6/30/14 31
Develop Consumer Awareness and Participation Notify users of facility that now accepts cartons o Collectors o Communities o Residents Outcomes o Increased visibility of carton recycling o Drive carton volumes to facilities 32
Develop Consumer Awareness and Participation Carton Council offers series of tools to assist with promotion and education around carton recycling Tool-kit with template advertisements, etc. Mini-grants to assist with costs, case by case basis Large major metropolitan area awareness campaigns 33
Develop Consumer Awareness and Participation If you can recycle cartons at home, you can recycle cartons at school. Carton Council resources for school carton recycling programs: o Grants for program start-up o Grants for special recycle bins o Start-up Guide, Best Practices o Posters and other materials 34
Adding School Cartons to the Equation + = 35
Is carton recycling available? Visit www.recyclecartons.com 36
Why is School Carton Recycling Important? Students generate a large number of milk and juice cartons each day. Increasing waste costs are a burden to schools Recycling programs teach students valuable lessons Recycling facilities need school cartons to move full truckloads of cartons to end markets more quickly 37
Schools generate cartons! One elementary student generates 133 servings of milk/year That s 2.5 pounds of cartons per student per year One 400 student elementary school generates 1000 pounds of cartons/year 38
Setting up a Successful Program 39
Collection of Cartons from Schools We work with schools existing waste hauler Adding cartons to the mix Right-sizing the trash and recycling bins 40
Disassemble Your Lunch 41
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Don t forget an Empty Station! Draining liquid waste makes for a lighter and cleaner system. Plus, lighter weight bags are a custodian s best friend! 43
Don t forget about plastic liners! While it s easy to collect cartons in plastic lined cans, remember. Plastic liners go into the trash! Cartons must be removed from the plastic liners before being placed in the outside containers! Save money by not using plastic liners. Ask students to place empty cartons in unlined recycling cans. 44
Plastic Liners go in the Trash Why we don t want cartons in plastic bags 45
Recycling Station Best Examples Finding the system that works for your school! 46
Simple Recycling Stations New York City s elementary school collection have kids participate in the process of emptying the milk from their cartons and then place the cartons in a separate container. 47
Think Outside the Can! System created by Ridgewood Middle School in Arnold, MO. Bin system created by E.P. Foster Elementary School in Ventura, CA Clayton Elementary School in the Neenah School District in Wisconsin 48
Carton Council Resources 49
Tools 50
Lunchroom Signage 51
Custodial Best Practices Guide 52
Grants I really feel recycling instills pride in school...pride, partnership and leadership. The kids get excited about recycling and they want to make a difference Our goal is to recycle as much as possible and adding cartons to our recycling program helped us accomplish that goal. Aaron Steinley Principal, Hempfield Middle School Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania 53
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Successes to Date As of April 2015 55
Steady Progress since 2008 CAMPAIGN KICKOFF 56
280 % Increase in Carton Recycling Access 2008-Before Campaign: o Carton recycling programs in 24 states o 18% of U.S. households had access to carton recycling Today: o Carton recycling programs in 48 states o 54% of U.S. households have access to carton recycling 57
Cartons now recycled across the US 77 of the 100 largest U.S. cities have access to carton recycling. 63.2 million U.S. households can now recycle cartons in their communities. Every month, more carton recycling programs are being added in schools, cities, towns, and counties across the country. 58
More access = more visibility The on-pack logo makes carton recycling more visible to consumers because the package informs consumers of what to do. Brands that use carton packaging are now able to include a qualified logo* on their packaging. * Currently with a negative qualifying statement in compliance with Federal Trade Commission guidelines. As cartons reached a significant majority of households with carton recycling access, the packaging may reflect only the recycle symbol. 59
Visibility = More Recovery More access brings a better recycling message on cartons Pre 2010 2010 - present Between 30-60% access Coming Soon Over 60% access No Message 60
Looking Ahead What s Next? 61
Stay in touch. Jeff Epstein jeff@cartonrecovery.com (503) 449-0611 www.cartonopportunities.org Recycle Cartons Recycle Cartons TOOLS. RESOURCES. GRAPHICS FACTS. WHITE PAPERS. SUPPORT 62