If you have been putting your milk cartons and juice boxes out with your paper and cardboard recycling, it might seem like a logical placement. After all, they are cardboard, right? But there is more to these containers than just cardboard, and in order for them to have a second life, they should be put out with your glass, plastic, and metal recycling.
Use of these cartons — known as aseptic containers — has grown in recent decades, used not just for milk and children’s juice, but also cooking stock, coconut water, even wine. The makers of these containers tout that they are lighter weight (and therefore easier to transport), allow for easier sterilization (and therefore fewer preservatives in the product) and are mostly made of a renewable resource. Aseptic containers also extend the shelf life of most food products, resulting in less food waste.