California milk cartons may lose their coveted recycling symbol, the one with the chasing arrows, potentially threatening the existence of the ubiquitous beverage containers. <\/p>\n
In a letter Dec. 15, Waste Management, one of the nation\u2019s largest waste companies, told the state the company would no longer sort cartons out of the waste stream for recycling at its Sacramento facility. Instead, it will send the milk- and food-encrusted packaging to the landfill. <\/p>\n
Marcus Nettz, Waste Management\u2019s director of recycling for Northern California and Nevada, cited concerns from buyers and overseas regulators that cartons \u2014 even in small amounts \u2014 could contaminate valuable material, such as paper, leading them to reject the imports.<\/p>\n
The company decision means the number of Californians with access to beverage carton recycling falls below the threshold in the state\u2019s \u201cTruth in Recycling\u201d law, or Senate Bill 343.<\/p>\n
And according to the law, that means the label has to come off.<\/p>\n
The recycling label is critical for product and packaging companies to keep selling cartons in California as the state\u2019s single-use packaging law goes fully into effect. That law, Senate Bill 54, calls for all single-use packaging to be recyclable or compostable by 2032. If it isn\u2019t, it can\u2019t be sold or distributed in the state.<\/p>\n
The labels also provide a feel-good marketing symbol suggesting to consumers the cartons won\u2019t end up in a landfill when they\u2019re discarded, or find their way into the ocean where plastic debris is a large and growing problem.<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, the state agency in charge of waste, CalRecycle, acknowledged Waste Management\u2019s change. <\/p>\n
In updated guidelines for the Truth in Recycling law, recycling rates for carton material have fallen below the state threshold.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a setback for carton manufacturers and their customers, including soup- and juice-makers. Their trade group, the National Carton Council, has been lobbying the state, providing evidence that Waste Management\u2019s Sacramento Recycling and Transfer Station successfully combines cartons with mixed paper and ships<\/a> it to Malaysia and other Asian countries including Vietnam, proving that there is a market. The Carton Council persuaded CalRecycle to reverse a decision it made earlier this year that beverage cartons did not meet the recycling requirements of the Truth in Recycling law. <\/p>\n Brendon Holland, a spokesman for the trade group, said in an email that his organization is aware of Waste Management\u2019s decision, but its understanding is that the company will now sort the cartons into their own dedicated waste stream \u201conce a local end market is available.\u201d<\/p>\n He added that even with \u201cthis temporary local adjustment,\u201d food and beverage cartons are collected and sorted in most of California, and said this is just a \u201ctemporary end market adjustment \u2014 not a long-term shift away from historical momentum.\u201d<\/p>\n In 2022, Malaysia and Vietnam banned imports of mixed paper bales \u2014 which include colored paper, newspapers, magazines and other paper products \u2014 from the U.S. because they were so often contaminated with non-paper products and plastic, such as beverage cartons. Waste Management told The Times on Dec. 5 that it has a \u201cCertificate of Approval\u201d by Malaysia\u2019s customs agency to export \u201csorted paper material.\u201d CalRecycle said it has no regulatory authority on \u201cwhat materials may or may not be exported.\u201d <\/p>\n Adding the Sacramento facility to the list of waste companies that were recycling cartons meant that the threshold required by the state had been met: More than 60% of the state\u2019s counties had access to carton recycling.<\/p>\n