Recycling soya milk cartons?

[mjnewbould]

I'm new to this and maybe you have discussed this before - but my question concerns the soya milk cartons - can one put them into recycle? are there some that are particularly good for this and some that are not so good - does anyone know?

[Mr Flibble]

It depends on your county - some recycle drinks cartons, some don't. Have a look on your council's website.

[Gorilla]

This website (http://www.tetrapakrecycling.co.uk/) should also help you find out if cartons are recycled in your area. if there's currently no collection you can send them to Tetra Pak but you have to pay the postage. unfortunately drink cartons are not very environmentally-friendly.

it is possible to make your own soya milk which obviously cuts out the need for such packaging, but i haven't had very good results from that myself. there is a thread on this forum about making your own soya milk if you're interested. Soya milk makers (http://veganforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2365)

[Maisiepaisie]

This website (http://www.tetrapakrecycling.co.uk/) should also help you find out if cartons are recycled in your area. if there's currently no collection you can send them to Tetra Pak but you have to pay the postage. unfortunately drink cartons are not very environmentally-friendly.I had a look at that link and was disappointed to find that the facilities available for recycling tetra paks are very few and far between :( I decided to write this letter to the councillor in charge of recycling facilities

Dear *****

I'm very pleased that we have recently been issued with blue bins for recycling glass, plastic and tin, thank you for providing these. I do hope we will be getting paper bins soon. According to your website we should have them but where I live we have not been given any as yet. I would also be grateful if you would consider making facilities available for recycling tetra paks. The nearest facilities to me are Salford and Bolton, which are quite a distance. Please could you take the time to have a look at http://www.tetrapakrecycling.co.uk/06.htm (http://www.tetrapakrecycling.co.uk/06.htm) for information for local councils and the financing available for tetra pak recycling.

Regards

[Gorilla]

good idea MaisiePaisie, i'm lucky that i can get drinks cartons collected for recycling where i live, but i have to pay extra for the service. :rolleyes:

[Maisiepaisie]

This is good news. I just received this reply to my email

Thank you for your enquiry

we are already talking to tetrapak about having some recycling banks sited in the borough.
we are also hoping to include tetrapak in the blue bins in the near future when our contractor is able to sort tetrapak from the other materials.
there are no plans to introduce bins for paper collections and we will continue with the green sacks for the foreseeable future.
we are also collecting cardboard with the paper from 23rd July across the borough.

hope this clarifies for you

best regards

recycling team
bury MBC

[cedarblue]

thanks for that link gorilla, unfortunately my town is the only one surrounded by others that do, that doesnt recycle but there is a bank near to me that i can take them to.

do the cartons have to be tetrapak marked? what about the regular juice, soya milk cartons from the shelves, ie shop own brands etc (the ali lined ones) - do you think they can be dumped in the bank too?

[Gorilla]

good question cedar, and i don't actually know. the co-op that collect in Brighton don't specify, so i would imagine they'll take any cartons, even if not actually marked as Tetrapak.

[Sluggie]

I've been saving mine up for weeks to take to the bank in Winchester, but I couldn't find it when I went. I hope they haven't removed it, 'cos I now have a garage full of the things. Need to make some phone calls ...

[cobweb]

we have paper bins now for all paper, cartons, etc, and thin card - we get huge yellow stickers slapped on them if we put thick card in them! :p . It's a challenge now that our regular bins are only emptied fortnightly, we really have to recycle. The paper bins get emptied monthly and i'm always shocked at how easily i fill mine :o .

[cedarblue]

actually since asking that question gorilla, i checked ther underside of asda own brand apple juice and it said tetrabrik (tetrapak) so i guess they'll be fine.

i am going to contact my council though informing them that they are alone surrounded by towns which have these facilities - thanks again for the link.

[Gorilla]

no problem cedar, hope they take notice and start providing facilities. if only Brighton council would do so as well :rolleyes: i'm going to keep paying to have mine collected because i get through too many to just chuck them in the bin. i can't stand waste.