Widely recyclable in the UK & Ireland

Please help us by washing and squashing your cartons before recycling.  Pinpoint your nearest facilities with the map opposite.

Local authorities

ACE UK has worked with a number of local authorities and Community Recycling Networks (CRN) to set up carton collection schemes.

Although cartons do not make up a substantial percentage of household waste (in fact they only make up 0.2% of it) there are a number of benefits in collecting cartons. They are a very visible part of the waste stream and it is likely that most residents in a local authority area use cartons regularly.

By offering carton collection, it can:

• Divert more material from landfill
• Take more material out of the residual waste bin to help reduce the pressure on a local authority for collection should you be considering moving to alternative weekly collection
• Increase participation in existing collection operations as residents are offered another waste stream to recycle
• Help increase the overall tonnage return of materials collected as more residents participate in recycling.

To help establish carton recycling in the UK, the industry has a dedicated recycling team who can provide advice and support for local authorities and community recycling networks wishing to collect cartons.

In addition to this, the industry is also offering a carton bring bank solution to all local authorities.

Community Recycling Network case study: Mid-Devon

Mid Devon Community Recycling (MDCR) ran a trial collection of cartons, in partnership with Mid Devon District Council,. The trial proved a success, and cartons have recently been added to the range of materials collected from all the 24,000 houses which receive MDCR's collection service.

Prior to the trial, MDCR had two concerns about carton recycling. Firstly, they were worried that cartons might be too space consuming on their lorries, and secondly they thought cartons might prove difficult to bale.

The trial served to allay both fears. Ken Orchard, Managing Director of MDCR said, "When a family are recycling effectively, cartons often represent a large proportion of their remaining dustbin content. However, we encourage householders to wash and squash cartons prior to putting them into their recycling box and consequently volume hasn't posed any problems for us. As far as baling goes, we waited for our first bale with some trepidation but were delighted to find that the cartons made a neat and compact bale."

The cartons are stored in large plastic sacks on the lorries and each lorry fills 2 to 3 sacks per day. The sacks are then emptied straight into a baler.

Mid Devon Community Recycling have found the addition of cartons to the range of materials collected to be cost-neutral. The cost of baling them and shipping them all the way to our paper mills is generally covered by the value of the recycling credit. Simon Hill, Recycling Officer of Mid Devon District Council said,"We're delighted to be able to improve the service we deliver to Mid Devon householders at no additional expense to the Council Tax payer."

The feedback that the company is receiving from the public suggests that people are delighted to be able to recycle cartons. On receiving the information leaflet one woman commented, "My children will be delighted. I've always refused to buy them drinks which are packed in cartons because we didn't have any facilities to recycle them."

Participation rates in the collection scheme overall have increased following the introduction of carton collection.

Schools & businesses