What Carton Council does

Carton Council is a nonprofit industry association founded in 2009 and funded exclusively by four leading carton manufacturers — Elopak, Novolex, SIG, and Tetra Pak. Operating from Falls Church, VA (mailing) and Denton, TX (registered office), the organization runs a small staff of 1-10 employees focused on a single mission: increasing food and beverage carton recycling rates across the United States and Canada. Its core technology contribution is non-proprietary but industry-shaping: ownership and stewardship of the ISRI Paper Stock Industry (PSI) Grade #52 scrap specification, which standardizes how multi-layer paper-polyethylene-aluminum cartons are sorted, baled, and marketed to end markets.

The council's product surface is a portfolio of free programs rather than commercial products. These include the School Carton Recycling Grant Program funding K-12 cafeterias, a consumer-facing Carton Recycling Locator, an Image Library, and a Resource Toolkit with sample social posts, posters, email templates, and website copy. Six end-market recyclers in North America — including Continuus Materials, Kelly Green Products, Sustana Fiber (U.S. and Quebec), Kimberly-Clark de Mexico Ecatepec, and Tissue Depot — purchase Grade #52 bales for processing into tissue, paper products, or sustainable building materials. The council operates across the entire recycling value chain, providing MRF equipment grants, consumer education, brand messaging guidance under FTC Green Guides, and policy advocacy.

Carton Council's business model is membership-funded rather than revenue-generating. Member dues and contributions from the four carton manufacturers underwrite grants, educational content, MRF partnerships, and regulatory engagement. Revenue is not publicly disclosed and no commercial pricing applies. The organization's effectiveness is measured in household access percentages (63% of U.S. households as of 2025, up from 18% in 2009), state coverage (49 states), recycling rate (20% U.S., 57% Canada), and end-market capacity (six facilities versus one at founding). Strategic priorities for 2026 center on California SB 343 regulatory recognition, school grant expansion, and state-level EPR-driven access growth.

Name

Carton Council

Legal name

Carton Council of North America, Inc.

Website

https://recyclecartons.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Carton Council is a nonprofit industry association funded by four carton manufacturers (Elopak, Novolex, SIG, Tetra Pak) that expands food and beverage carton recycling across the U.S. and Canada through grants, MRF partnerships, consumer education, and stewardship of the Grade #52 material specification.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Carton Recycling Advocacy and Education

NAICS

Other Waste Collection (562119)

SIC

Refuse Systems (4953), Sanitary Services (4950)

akta.pro primary industry

Eco-Friendly Disposal, Recycling & Donation Hauling (HSAIAOAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Liquid Cartons & Aseptic Packaging (Gable-Top, Tetra-Style) (IMALACAG), Carton Packaging Operations (Gable-Top, Aseptic Cartons) (AFAFAJAH)

Keywords

• Carton recycling programs
• Recycling education resources
• Packaging sustainability advocacy
• Municipal recycling infrastructure
• Materials recovery facilities

Headquarters

HQ city

Falls Church

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Member Funding: The Carton Council is funded by four leading carton manufacturers (Elopak, Novolex, SIG, and Tetra Pak). Their contributions support all Carton Council efforts to increase carton recycling, including grants to MRFs, communities, schools, and end market development.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Carton Council is a nonprofit industry association that supports carton recycling programs across the U.S. and Canada through funding from four carton manufacturers (Elopak, Novolex, SIG, Tetra Pak). It provides grants to schools and communities, MRF equipment funding, consumer education resources, a recycling locator tool, and standardized Grade #52 specification guidance to expand carton recycling access and rates.

Product overview

Carton Council operates as a recycling initiative focused on food and beverage carton recycling across the United States and Canada. The organization offers a suite of educational resources and programs rather than a technology product. Core offerings include the School Carton Recycling Grant Program, which funds K-12 schools to implement carton recycling, and the Carton Recycling Locator tool for consumers to find local recycling options. The Resource Toolkit provides promotional materials including sample social posts, posters, printable materials, email templates, and website copy. The Image Library offers product-specific images for communities and partners to use in their own communications.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• School Carton Recycling Grant Program Grant program providing funding to K-12 schools across the US and Canada to establish or expand food and beverage carton recycling programs, including cafeteria recycling stations, collection bins, signage, and education initiatives.
• Carton Recycling Locator Address-based lookup tool that allows users to check if carton recycling is available in their community, providing information on local drop-off facilities and curbside collection programs.
• Resource Toolkit Collection of downloadable resources for promoting carton recycling, including sample social media posts, posters, printable materials, sample emails, announcements, and website copy templates for communities, schools, and brand partners.
• Image Library Gallery of carton recycling images organized by product type (broth, chocolate milk, coconut water, coffee, cream, juice, milk, soup, tea, tomatoes, water, wine, etc.) available for download by partners and communities.
• Sample Social Posts and Social Content Pre-written social media content for Instagram, Facebook, Twitter/X, and LinkedIn that educates consumers about carton recycling with step-by-step recycling instructions.
• Posters and Printable Materials Printable promotional materials including posters that educate and encourage carton recycling behavior.
• Sample Emails and Announcements Template press releases and email copy for communities and schools to announce carton recycling programs to residents and parents.
• Sample Website Copy Guidance and sample copy for communities and schools to inform their audiences about carton recycling on their websites.
• Carton Recycling 101 Educational resource explaining how food and beverage cartons are recyclable, how to recycle them, and debunking common myths about carton recycling.

Quantifiable outcome

• Household access increased from 18% (2009) to 63% (2025)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and supporting.

• ElopakcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2009One of four founding member companies of the Carton Council. Elopak is a leading carton manufacturer whose contributions fund all Carton Council efforts to increase carton recycling.
• NovolexcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2009One of four founding member companies of the Carton Council. Novolex is a leading carton manufacturer whose contributions fund all Carton Council efforts to increase carton recycling.
• SIGcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2009One of four founding member companies of the Carton Council. SIG is a leading carton manufacturer whose contributions fund all Carton Council efforts to increase carton recycling.
• Tetra PakcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2009One of four founding member companies of the Carton Council. Tetra Pak is a leading carton manufacturer whose contributions fund all Carton Council efforts to increase carton recycling.
• Waste ConnectionsmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWaste Connections operates two MRFs in California that are bringing food and beverage carton recycling to five counties (San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Lake, Mendocino, and Sonoma), reaching nearly 1.5 million additional Californians.
• California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCalRecycle published an update to Senate Bill 343 Final Findings Report confirming food and beverage cartons meet statewide sortation threshold for recyclable labeling, recognizing carton recyclability in California.
• Western Placer Waste Management Authority MRFsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerVerified carton sortation facility in Roseville, CA that sorts cartons into PSI Grade 52 bales, serving California counties.
• Pacific Recycling Solutions MRFsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerVerified carton sortation facility in Ukiah, CA that sorts cartons into PSI Grade 52 bales, serving California counties.
• Cold Canyon Landfill MRFsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerVerified carton sortation facility in San Luis Obispo, CA that sorts cartons into PSI Grade 52 bales, serving California counties.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Closed Loop Partners: Investment firm and accelerator building the circular economy, with programs funding recycling infrastructure and end markets. Complementary to Carton Council's end-market development work and active across similar MRF and materials categories.
• Foodservice Packaging Institute: Industry trade association for foodservice packaging, including recovery and recycling programs. Comparable coalition-and-recycling-coordination model, but focused on single-use foodservice formats rather than shelf-stable cartons.

Direct peers

• The Recycling Partnership: Nonprofit that funds and supports U.S. residential recycling programs, MRF improvements, and consumer education — directly analogous mission and operating model to Carton Council, focused on the broader recycling stream rather than cartons specifically.
• AMERIPEN (American Institute for Packaging and the Environment): Industry coalition advocating for packaging sustainability policy and EPR frameworks in North America. Comparable member-funded, policy-and-education operating model with overlapping member companies.
• Sustainable Packaging Coalition: Industry-based nonprofit working to advance sustainable packaging design and recovery. Shares Carton Council's coalition-of-brand-owners structure and focus on packaging end-of-life, but operates across all packaging types.

Others

• Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI): Trade association that defines PSI scrap specifications including the Grade #52 carton specification that Carton Council helped establish. Adjacent ecosystem participant rather than direct competitor.
• Circularity Gap Reporting Initiative / Circle Economy: International circular-economy research and advocacy organization. Thematically aligned on carton material circularity but operates globally at policy-and-metrics level rather than U.S. collection infrastructure.

Broad incumbents

• Keep America Beautiful: Established national nonprofit focused on litter prevention, recycling education, and community beautification. Much larger and broader mandate, but overlapping consumer-education and community-grant delivery model.
• Plastics Industry Association: Trade association representing the entire U.S. plastics industry, including advocacy for plastics recycling infrastructure. Analogous coalition-and-policy model but focused on a competing substrate to cartons.
• National Waste & Recycling Association: Trade association for the U.S. private-sector waste and recycling industry, representing haulers, MRFs, and processors. Carton Council works closely with MRFs that this association represents, making it an adjacent ecosystem peer.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/RecycleCartons
• Facebookfacebook.com/RecycleCartonsCA
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/recyclecartons

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Carton Council