MAYOR ANTONIO R. VILLARAIGOSA
City of Los Angeles

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 14, 2011

CONTACT:
Sarah Hamilton
213-978-0741

MAYOR VILLARAIGOSA ANNOUNCES EXPANSION OF CITY'S RECYCLING PROGRAM

Recycling Program Will Now Include Liquid Food and Beverage Cartons

Los Angeles is the Largest City in California to Implement this Environmentally-Progressive Program

LOS ANGELES – Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and the Carton Council announced the expansion of the City of Los Angeles’ residential curbside recycling program to include food and beverage cartons today. Los Angeles is the largest city in California to participate in a carton recycling program.

"Los Angeles continues to be a national leader and environmental steward,” said Mayor Villaraigosa. “This partnership with the Carton Council ensures that liquid food and beverage cartons are not left to the landfills, but are recycled in the most responsible and efficient way possible.”

Beginning immediately, residential households can place all empty, clean and dry food and beverage cartons – such as milk and juice cartons, along with soup and broth, soy milk and wine cartons – in their recycling bin. The expansion to include carton recycling will add no additional costs to residents.

“Carton recycling is another win for city residents, for cost savings to ratepayers and for the environment,” said Enrique C. Zaldivar, Director of the City of Los Angeles Bureau of Sanitation. “Tell your family, neighbors, and friends, the City of Los Angeles is now recycling cartons in the blue recycling bin!”

Recycled carton paper fibers are a valuable resource for making new products. Cartons have global demand and after they are recycled, they are shipped to paper mills, where the paper fiber is extracted to make new products such as recycled paper products and building materials. The results of carton recycling will support cost savings to City ratepayers in reduced landfill tipping fees and increase revenue generation for the additional recyclable materials recovered and sold to the best available market.

The Bureau of Sanitation currently diverts and recycles 65 percent of the City's 10.1 million tons of solid waste each year – more than any big city in the nation. The City’s goal is to achieve a 70-percent diversion rate from landfill by 2013. Carton recycling is expected to deliver an additional 430 tons of materials from the solid waste stream in its first year.

This expansion of the City’s recycling program is the latest in a series of accomplishments for the Bureau of Sanitation in its efforts to make Los Angeles greener. The Bureau currently provides over 1.1 million households – both multi-family and single family – with recycling bins and service. Every year, half a million tons of garden debris are collected from homes and turned into mulch.
Through the Food Waste Recycling Program, over 1,000 restaurants send food waste to the City for composting. The City also provides free recycling services to 648 LAUSD schools and is working with the District to expand to every school. Additionally, over 60% of the City’s sanitation fleet uses clean fuel and the Bureau is on track to reach 100% by 2013.

“We commend the City of Los Angeles for setting an example for cities across the nation to recycle cartons and keep them out of landfills. The Carton Council is committed to working with the entire recycling supply chain to deliver sustainable recycling solutions in order to divert valuable cartons from the landfill to the highest and best use,” said Jeff Fielkow, Vice President of Recycling for the Carton Council. “We are committed to working with other cities to take this important step to expand their recycling programs.”

About the Carton Council:
The Carton Council and its members Elopak, Evergreen Packaging, SIG/SIG Combibloc and Tetra Pak are working with recycling facilities, the communities they serve, and paper mills across the Country to build a robust recycling system for liquid food and beverage carton packages - i.e. milk and juice cartons found in the refrigerated case or cartons merchandised on nonrefrigerated shelves, containing products such as juice (juice boxes), soy, broth, soup, wine and meal replacement beverages.
As of January 2011, the Carton Council's Carton Recycling Access Campaign has already reached nearly 35 million households (nearly 1 in 3 American households). And it is actively working to add communities to this list with a goal of reaching an additional 30 million U.S. households by 2015. Visit www.recyclecartons.com