Burlington County Launching New Program To Recycle Plastic Drink Carriers

FLORENCE – Burlington County has a new eco-friendly way for residents to recycle their plastic beer, soda and seltzer carriers.

The Burlington County Department of Solid Waste and Recycling has launched a new initiative with Oregon-based plastic carrier manufacturer PakTech and two Burlington County breweries to create drop-off locations for used drink carriers, also known as handles.

Starting this month, residents can bring their used drink carriers to the Burlington County Resource Recovery Complex located at 22000 Burlington-Columbus Road in Florence.

Carriers can also be brought to the Farm Truck Brewing in Medford or Zed’s Beer in Evesham. Both breweries use PakTech carriers and participate in the company’s recycling program.

“Burlington County residents are very environmentally-conscious and have helped us earn one of the best recycling records in the state,” said Burlington County Commissioner Director Felicia Hopson. “Collecting plastic drink carriers might seem small but it is another way for us to keep common plastic items out of our landfill. It helps protect our environment and promotes recycling and sustainability.”

PakTech carriers are made from 100% recycled plastics and are widely used by breweries and major drink and food brands like Kirkland, Kraft/Heinz, Colgate-Palmolive, Pepsi and Ocean Spray. The carriers are quickly replacing the older plastic ring holders that pose a threat to wildlife and marine life if littered on land or waterways.

PakTech carriers are recyclable but cannot be processed through Burlington County’s single-stream recycling program. Unlike the aluminum cans they help transport, the carriers should NOT be placed in curbside recycling bins.

Carriers dropped off at the County Recovery Center will be processed and recycled with the County’s other plastics. Farm Truck Brewing and Zed’s Beer wash and reuse the carriers returned to them. Damaged ones will be collected by the County for its recycling.

The County hopes additional local breweries and municipalities will also consider joining the program to give residents more locations to bring carriers.

“We want to encourage more local breweries to host drop offs and we’re also looking to do special collections at upcoming paper shredding days and other County events,” said Commissioner Tom Pullion, liaison to the Department of Solid Waste and Recycling. “The more drop-off locations and options we can offer, the easier it will be for residents to participate and recycle right. It’s an easy way for people to help protect our environment and it’s a proven tax saver because it reduces landfill waste and fees towns pay for trash disposal.”

Burlington County was one of the first counties in New Jersey to create a regional recycling program and it is one of the only ones to collect from all its towns without charging either municipalities or residents for the service.

Last year, close to 82 million pounds of recyclables were collected from Burlington County’s 40 towns, saving those municipalities and their taxpayers almost $3.9 million from additional landfill fees.

Photos: Burlington County Commissioner Tom Pullion, the liaison to the County Department of Solid Waste and Recycling, and Lori White, co-founder at Zed’s Beer, help promote a new recycling initiative to collect used plastic beer and drink carriers. The carriers, also known as handles, are recyclable but should not be discarded in curbside recycling containers. The County is collecting them at a new drop-off site at the Burlington County Resource Recovery Center, 22000 Burlington-Columbus Road, Florence. The carriers can also be dropped off at either Zed’s Beer in Evesham or Farm Truck Brewing in Medford.