Carton Council of Canada

Introduction

The Carton Council of Canada represents the leading carton manufacturing companies in Canada:

Elopak Evergreen Packaging SIG Combibloc Tetra Pak

Our member companies manufacture and market processing and packaging systems that are convenient, safe and environmentally sound. 

Who We Are

How We Came To Be

Need Affiliates

The Carton Council of Canada was established to advance sustainable recycling solutions in Canada. Cartons are a valuable industry commodity with multiple end markets, including tissue and other value added products.

The Carton Council of Canada is a part of the Carton Council, North America.

In France, carton manufactures belong to the Alliance Carton Nature (ACN)

Carton Manufacturers in other European countries and the United Kingdom are a part of The Alliance for Beverage Cartons and the Environment (ACE).

What We Endeavour To Achieve

Mission Vision Initial Goals

The Carton Council of Canada’s mission is to increase the environmental performance of food and beverage cartons through minimizing their life cycle impacts, including diverting them from landfills through increased recycling.

Our vision is a world in which every carton is recycled.

Our goal is to work with the entire recycling value chain to facilitate a sustainable infrastructure for carton recycling.• Work with processors to sort

cartons into separate grade• Facilitate strong North

American end-markets for cartons

• Create top-of-mind awareness among consumers for carton recycling

• Share our knowledge and industry expertise with governments to promote attainable waste diversion goals.

A Closer Look At Cartons

Key Components

Cartons are a type of packaging for food and beverage products. They are made mainly from paper, easy to recognize and are available in two types:

Shelf Stable Refrigerated

On average contain 74% paper, 22% polyethylene and 4% aluminum

On average contain 80% paper and 20% polyethylene

Include juice, milk, soy beverage, soup broth and wine

Include milk, juice, cream, liquid egg and soy beverage

Environmental Profile

Cartons have amongst the lowest environmental impact in the liquid food packaging industry.

Cartons are:• Recyclable• Have a low carbon footprint• Made mainly from trees, a renewable resource, from well-

managed forests.

Cartons are lightweight, compact and transport efficient.

Commitment to Sustainability

As concerned carton manufacturers and members of the Carton Council of Canada, we work to continuously improve our organizations’ sustainability performance. We take great pride in effectively managing our energy, water and material usage to minimize the life-cycle impacts of our products and are committed to optimizing the end-of-life management of used cartons.

Cartons are and will continue to be the leading renewable liquid food packaging option.

Carton Recycling in Canada

How to Recycle Cartons

Deposits: For provinces that have a deposit on juice or milk, consumers simply recycle by returning cartons and redeeming their deposit.

Blue Box: For blue box programs, consumers simply place the cartons in their recycling bin. » Single-stream recycling programs allow cartons to be placed in

bins with all other recyclables. » Dual-stream recycling programs typically separate containers from

fibers. In this case, cartons typically should be placed in the container stream. Always refer to your municipality's instructions to determine which stream to place your carton in.

Current Recycling Rate

Today, the Carton Council of Canada estimates that more than 94% of Canadians have access to carton recycling.

The Carton Council of Canada is committed to increasing sustainable carton recycling by promoting both recycling technology and local collection programs to divert cartons from landfills

End-of-life Management: Secondary MarketsCarton Council of Canada is focused on ensuring that there are sustainable carton end markets for all of Canada.

Cartons are a valuable industry commodity with multiple existing end markets, including:

» Tissue» Other recycled paper products» Industrial and commercial product manufacturing.

Carton Council of Canada is committed to working with the recycling industry to facilitate carton recycling and divert cartons from landfills.  

Carton Recycling End Markets

As with most recyclables, cartons are collected, sorted and sent to recycling facilities in North America and overseas. Bales of recycled cartons are typically shipped to paper mills where cartons are mixed with water in a hydrapulper, which functions like an oversized blender, to extract the paper fibre from the plastic and aluminum.

Carton Recycling End Markets

North American paper mill locations that accept Canadian cartons include:

There are four other paper mills located in the United States and at least nine other mills operating internationally.

In 2010 a recycling facility based out of Yamachiche Québec launched a new recycling line that turns cartons and plastic bags into granules through a thermokinetic process.

Carton Council of Canada is currently exploring other end markets in North America.

Fibrek Inc (former SFK)

Great Lakes Tissue Tissue Technology

Fairfield, West Virginia Cheboygan, Michigan Green Bay, Wisconsin

Work with Value Chain to Facilitate Sustainable RecyclingSorting Goals End Market Goals

Cartons are sorted into a separate grade where feasible

Strong end markets, including North American markets

• Get baseline in Ontario and Quebec

• Develop plan

• Get baseline of end markets used today for Canadian cartons

• Communicate key information to sorting facilities & brokers on all end markets

• Develop plan to enhance end markets, including assessing the feasibility of end markets in Canada

Work with Value Chain to Facilitate Sustainable RecyclingAwareness Goals Government and IFO’s Goals

Consumers recycle their cartons Fair recycling levies & attainable recycling targets

• Engage and align stakeholders• Develop plan that leverages

traditional & social media to generate maximum impact

• Participate in key legislative, regulatory & fee setting proceedings

• Share information and expertise

• Promote transparency

Call to Action

Your support and feedback will help us to ensure that sustainable carton recycling will grow.