News on Behalf of Solid Waste Authority: SWA NEWS: Is It Recyclable? Let’s Talk About Drink Boxes

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Today, many things are recyclable. But not everything. Let’s focus on drink boxes.

Drink boxes can include kids drinks with a straw and tetra pak beverage cartons with a cap. One could even go so far as saying these can be generalized as aseptic cartons.

According to the Carton Council, drink boxes are made from high-quality paper, an aluminum/plastic combination in some instances, and a thin layer of polyethylene (plastic), not wax, which is recyclable, too. So, you would think these would go into Palm Beach County’s yellow recycling bin. But, as drink boxes contain a food liquid, they should go into Palm Beach County’s blue recycling bin so other recyclable paper doesn’t become contaminated.

It is not necessary to wash out these containers before recycling them. Simply empty out all the liquid. You can also keep the caps on the cartons and containers. But if the drink box has a straw, throw the straw in the trash.

To help the Solid Waste Authority of Palm Beach County (SWA) sort and capture more drink boxes from the blue recycling bin stream, the SWA installed an AI robot at the recycling facility in late 2022. This robot, affectionately named Roxie, focuses on sorting out drink boxes and aseptic cartons and other high-priority plastics.

In 2023, the SWA recycled more than 40 tons of aseptic cartons and gable-top containers. When recycled, the paper is used to make tissues, paper towels and writing paper, or sustainable building materials, such as roofing cover board or wallboard. And the aluminum/plastic combination can be used for generating energy or producing lumber board-like materials.

One thing to note, there are some kids drinks that come in pouches. These pouches are not recyclable in Palm Beach County’s dual-stream recycling program and should be placed in the trash where they will be turned into energy.

Give your recyclables the future they deserve. Recycle right, Palm Beach County!

Learn more Recycle Right tips.

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About the Solid Waste Authority of Palm Beach County

The Solid Waste Authority of Palm Beach County (SWA or Authority) is a Dependent Special District that was created by the Florida Legislature in 1975. Since then, the SWA has developed an award-winning integrated solid waste management system to handle the county’s waste and recyclables. We call ourselves AWAY: whether you throw it, recycle it or flush it AWAY, we put your waste to work. Each year, we:

• Process 100,000 tons of recyclables
• Combust approximately 1.8 million tons of trash to generate electricity at renewable energy facilities
• Produce enough electricity to power approximately 90,000 homes
• Recycle more than 130,000 tons of wastewater treatment residuals (sludge from flushes) into an environmentally-friendly fertilizer amendment
• Safely recycle or dispose of more than 4.7 million pounds of home hazards
• Collect rainwater from the roofs of Renewable Energy Facility 2 and store it in a 2-million gallon cistern, which is used as part of the energy making process

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