Re: [greenyes] recycling vs. composting of cardboard

[EarthGB@no.address]

In a message dated 6/3/04 8:02:50 PM, calcompost@no.address writes:

<< For a while I've been buying milk in waxed cardboard 1/2 gallons, & 
composting the carton.  I've noticed that it takes quite a while to decompose, and 
it appears I'm ending up with a plastic coating in my compost.  Any suggestions?


It was my intent to reduce my waste & environmental impact by purchasing milk 
in the cartons, rather than using milk in #2 plastic jugs.  Am I wrong? 

 >>

Dear Angie,

About composting milk cartons, the fact is that these and all frozen food 
packages, cold drink cups, etc, are made of polycoated paper, that is, highgrade 
paper coated on both sides with low density polyethylene (LDPE) plastic, NOT 
wax as many people believe.  Hence the plastic ending up in your compost.

I'd suggest that you buy milk in high density polyethylene (#2 HDPE) jugs, 
which are almost universally collected for recycling.  This will remove the 
plastic source from your compost.  If you don't want to buy milk in the most 
common HDPE bottle, then I think your choices are (1) look for milk supplied in 
returnable glass bottles; or (2) see if any local milk suppliers offer milk in 
polycarbonate (PC) plastic bottles.  The latter are returnable, refillable, & 
recyclable, but offhand I don't know how widely available they are.

PC bottles are like the large blue tinted bottles used for many water 
coolers.  PC would be coded #7.  It's a high-end engineering plastic with good reuse 
potential given the quality of the plastic & its value.  However, you may have 
to search around to see if a local dairy offers the bottles & has take-back 
in place.  PC is a more stable plastic that won't impart a plastic flavor to 
bottle contents.  I've been reusing PC bottles for my water cooler for years 
with no problem.  Before I take them back to refill at the water store, I slosh 
around a few drops of hydrogen peroxide in the bottles, then pour them out.  
That sterilizes the bottles.     

I can only offer my opinion regarding composting vs recycling of corrugated 
cardboard, namely that I think recycling is the preferred option to save 
forests, etc.  Corrugated is eminently recyclable, with many mills accepting it at 
good prices.  If your local recycling collection program does not accept 
corrugated, you should lobby them to add it, as it's a large fraction of the discard 
stream.

Good luck,
Gretchen Brewer
Earth Circle
San Diego, CA