Whether you are making breakfast, baking a cake, or painting an Easter egg, you almost always find eggs in the kitchen. Can you recycle egg cartons? Yes, most egg cartons are recyclable, depending on the material they are made of. There are just a couple of matters you want to know.
Different Types Of Egg Cartons
There are three types of egg cartons. How do you tell the difference?
Well, the cardboard egg cartons will sense like paper, and when you tear them, they will exhibit numerous layers. Polystyrene or Styrofoam egg cartons, as the title suggests, will experience barely foamy although it is thin. They are also pretty vibrant compared with paper. The clear plastic pet egg cartons will seem to be like the identical plastic you locate on soft drink bottles and water bottles.
Here is a little greater about every type and how you can recycle them.
Styrofoam Egg Cartons
What’s It Made From
Styrofoam is actually the same material as polystyrene or plastic number 6, which is made from petroleum. Polystyrene is used because it’s a good insulator, is extremely lightweight, and is veritably versatile. It’s also veritably cheap for manufacturers to use.
Did you know Styrofoam is a trademark of Dow chemical company and refers to a different system to make polystyrene?
Polystyrene isn’t a great material as it can last a veritably long time in the environment. It’s also extremely lightweight, so it can blow around and out of bins and landfills veritably fluently. Once it gets into the environment, the polystyrene breaks down into smaller pieces veritably fluently.
The question is, can you recycle Styrofoam egg cartons? Well, yes, you can, but as we like to say, it’s a little complicated!
How To Recycle Them
Although it’s possible to recycle polystyrene or Styrofoam egg cartons, utmost of us don’t have access to a recycling program. Numerous original authorities don’t accept Styrofoam egg cartons. This is either because they don’t have the installations to sort them or to recycle polystyrene.
Still, there are a couple of other options, if your original authority doesn’t accept polystyrene. You can check if your original grocery store has a take-back program for recovering the froth packaging. Eggsland’s stylish has a program to shoot your clean egg cartons to them if you don’t have a community program. There may also be analogous programs around.
Recycled Styrofoam can be made into numerous other particulars like erecting accouterments sequestration, and indeed some hard-plastic particulars like plastic moldings. It can also be made into packing peanuts. Although it’s good to recycle the material into commodity new, packing peanuts can not be recycled again. Plus, there are numerous druthers to packing peanuts that are more fluently disposed of and indeed recycled.
Still, make sure the cartons are clean and throw them in your recycling caddy if you have a curbside program available for your froth egg cartons.
Cardboard Egg Cartons
What’s It Made From
Cardboard or paperboard egg cartons are much more eco-friendly. The cardboard can generally be recycled, and if not, it can be composted.
Some recycling programs won’t accept any egg cartons. This is because people don’t always recycle rightly, so they end up with different types of egg cartons. It’s challenging for them to separate the Styrofoam cartons from the cardboard egg cartons, so it’s easier not to accept any.
Utmost cardboard egg cartons are made from recycled paper or cardboard. This is great because they’re formerly recycled formerly. Unfortunately, as paper and cardboard are recycled, they lose their quality, and so they can not be recycled infinitely.
How To Recycle Them
Always check with your local authority. As mentioned over, some curbside programs won’t accept egg cartons at all. Others won’t accept cardboard cartons because they’re made from veritably low-grade paper.
Still, then are our tips if you have a curbside program available to recycle your egg cartons. Make sure there’s no food residue in the cartons. Food residue can have an impact on the recycling process.
Try to use a bowl to put your cracked eggs into rather than the egg cartons to help keep it clean.
Clear Plastic Egg Cartons
What’s It Made From
These clear egg cartons are generally made from polyethylene terephthalate or pet plastic. This is plastic quantity 6 with the chasing arrows around it. You see this symbol on the bottom of the egg carton.
How To Recycle Them
Recycling these containers is enough simple as a pet is one of the most recyclable types of plastic. They can go straight into your curbside recycling program. Just make sure they’re clean.
Ways To Reduce And Reuse
Reduce
Here are some ways you can reduce your use of egg cartons.
- Exercise the ones you have and choose the stylish egg cartons.
- Choose cardboard egg cartons or pet clear plastic egg cartons over foam.
- Avoid polystyrene or Styrofoam where possible.
- Buy eggs from an original farmer if you can. Also, you can bring back your egg cartons and reuse them.
- Give the cartons to someone who has chickens so they can be used again.
- Encourage your original egg supplier to make the switch to paperboard.
Reuse
There are lots of other fun ways you can exercise your egg cartons. Here are our favorites.
- Use them for compost( only the cardboard type).
- Paint pallet for expiring artists.
- Grow seedlings.
- Organize your sewing room .
- Contribute them to a school or original arts and crafts community group.
Final Thoughts
The quality you can do is select the material you understand you can recycle based on your on-hand facilities. If you have polystyrene recycling available, then great, but if not, one of the different alternatives is plenty better. If you usually compost, then pick cardboard. Of course, that relies upon what your neighborhood shop carries also.
