ok, this is going to make me sound really stupid but i just need this answered. i buy those small cardboard edensoy soy milk containers and i go through them pretty quickly since i drink 2 glasses a day - i end up going through a container every 2 days.. so my question is, can they be recycled? would i have to cut out the plastic flip-top to recycle them? i'm always paranoid that i'm going to put something in a specific recycling department that shouldn't go in there and that it's going to cause all kinds of problems and they won't be able to recycle anything anymore...

i recycle or reuse just about everything i can (and i really wish i could compost but i'm in an apartment so it's not like i have a lawn to put this thing..), but sometimes i'm not sure about certain items or containers. i wish there was a website i could go to for my town to read about this. governments suck. :)

I don't think they are recyclable, cuz they're made from lots of different materials laminated together. Cardboard, plastic, maybe some kind of foil...

that's not what i wanted to hear.. what a waste of material :(

guess i should have just emailed them to begin with.. anyway, here's the info i got back:

Dear Scott,

Thank you for contacting Eden Foods and your interest in Eden products.

Eden has a serious commitment to the future of our planet, and we do what we can to promote aseptic recycling. If aseptic recycling is not offered yet in your area, you could be instrumental in getting this started in your neighborhood. You may wish to call the Aseptic Packaging Council at (800) 277-8088 or Erich Parker at (703) 351-5062 for a thorough discussion concerning aseptic containers.

To our knowledge, the pour spount is not being recycled. As changes occur and different sources become available in the future, naturally we would be more than happy to offer an environmentally friendly pour spout. In any event, we are glad that you care about recycling and our environment.

If you should have any further questions, please contact Customer Service.

Sincerely,

Sandy Baker
Customer Service
Eden Foods

yes, i also find it hard to know what you can and can't recycle.

What gets me is window envelopes. We are issued with plastic[?]sacks to put our recycled stuff in now and it says on it NO window envelopes. So I tear off the bit of the envelope with the clear window and recycle the rest. But is it allowed?

Oh and that horrible sinking feeling you get as you realise you've just dropped a brown beer bottle into the container marked 'clear glass only'.

well you can't have too much recycling but this makes 3 on the go

Items that can be recycled differ depending on what city you live in. There should be information on what your city recycles (via curb-side recycling, drop-offs, etc.) on your city's website. In my city, Cincinnati, OH, a list of recyclable items is found here:

http://www.rcc.org/recycle.html

Your city should have similar info available on the internet. Just do a search for "your city" recycling, or something like that. Hope this helps!

-emily

Originally posted by starsprite
Items that can be recycled differ depending on what city you live in. There should be information on what your city recycles (via curb-side recycling, drop-offs, etc.) on your city's website. In my city, Cincinnati, OH, a list of recyclable items is found here:

http://www.rcc.org/recycle.html

Your city should have similar info available on the internet. Just do a search for "your city" recycling, or something like that. Hope this helps!

-emily

And just where the heck have you been young lady?
Luuuuucy...you have some 'splainin' to do! :D

Hey Tame! Well, uh, ya know! I seem to forget for a while about veggieboards and then I remember and come back and am surprised that people remember me!!! Really though, I have not had a lot of time to do anything much on the internet, usually I just have enough time to check my email but I have just got my job back and well, it gets slow sometimes :) Nice to see some familiar "faces" though! So what's all this about "Tame the Pimp"?!? :)

-emily

So what's all this about "Tame the Pimp"?!?

We try not to talk about it. It only encourages him. ;)

Welcome back! :)

hell this has been a long day :D

I also would check with your local recovery facility, they should have a publication on what is and isn't acceptable. My area does not allow the aseptic containers either.

Thw whole window thing for the envelopes, is crazy, I'd say if you cut the window out, it should be fine, it's the window plastic that doesn't recycle the same as the paper. With the window gone, the rest is fine.

I may have to contact the local RF, to see about accepting aseptic containers. :)

now I'm wondering what happens to all my soymilk containers, I usually put them out with my recycling cardboard and they always take them.... usually if I put something out they dont recycle they leave the whole thing (I HATE THAT). I'll have to check on this just to make sure.

bunny-
Maybe they recently started or always have accepted them in your area. That would be nice, I should check to make sure but I don't think they accept them in my area. :(

I have read that asceptic containers can be recycled and turned into "plastic lumber" like those fake two by fours that are used to build walk ways at amusement parks.

woohoo! I was wondering about those envelope windows too, and here's what I found out (for my city):

Q. Do I have to remove staples, paper clips, envelope windows or clasps from my mixed papers-office, school or other?

A. No, removal of these items is not necessary as the process of remaking paper will screen and remove these items from the finished product.

Hey thanks; I was wondering about recycling soymilk containers myself. I've been washing them out really well and cutting out the spout and throwing them in with the cardboard, but I don't know how kosher this is. You can't, for instance, recycle pizza boxes even if they don't seem real greasy because, well, they're pizza boxes. :down:

I was going to look into aseptic recycling in my area, but I already know that we don't have it and there is no one in the city that would go for it. We're still working on getting a yard waste program here.

My question is, why can't silk/ eden soy/what have you soymilk company package their milks in standard half gallon recyclable milk containers? Almost every city has facilities to recycle those. Does this seem like an unreasonable inquiry to bring to the companies?

Originally posted by Lynn
My question is, why can't silk/ eden soy/what have you soymilk company package their milks in standard half gallon recyclable milk containers? Almost every city has facilities to recycle those. Does this seem like an unreasonable inquiry to bring to the companies?

i certainly think that's a good question, go ahead and ask! i've always wondered why larger containers don't exist, if for nothing else than reducing the amount of waste. do they really think that no one would buy larger containers, aseptic or not?

who could drink a half gallon of soy milk before it expires?! I have to buy the little 6 packs, single-serving size, because even the quarts go bad before I'm half way through with it.

21.

sitting aside all these plastic bottles is making me realize just how much soda I drink in a week!

dude, I drink a 64 oz. carton of soy milk a week easily (I also use it for baking and cooking)...

It would be bettert o have them in plastic cartons, though, for recycling purposes. I wonder if it poses a problem, though, with spoiling, or something, from light? Would be interesting to find out. I am probably going to save a lot of cartons and use them for containers for plants (I already have beans planted in gallon water jugs that my parents were going to throw away).

Originally posted by kpickell
who could drink a half gallon of soy milk before it expires?! I have to buy the little 6 packs, single-serving size, because even the quarts go bad before I'm half way through with it.

We go through almost two gallons a week. I'd like to buy soymilk in a gallon size, much less the half-gallon size we get in the carton. I way prefer the plastic handles with jugs, though I know they result in greater sun exposure.