Packing Change: Why You'll Soon Be Missing Your Cardboard Egg Containers

In a few months, you may start to notice less recycled cardboard egg cartons from South Mountain Creamery and even grocery stores worldwide.

On May 1, 2013, a fire caused $13 million in damages to the egg carton manufacturer, Pactiv Advanced Packing Solutions, located in Georgia. The company is the world's largest producer of food service and food packaging. It has 55 plants worldwide, including 25 in North America, and more 12,000 employees.

SMC is working hard to find a new supplier of recycled cardboard egg cartons. Until then, we will be using egg cartons made of polystyrene. Polystyrene can be recycled into a number of different products, including egg cartons, license plate frames, foam utensils, packing peanuts, and thermal insulation. Check with recycling companies in your area to see if they recycle polystyrene products. If you are unable to recycle polystyrene, check out these alternative uses for your egg cartons:

Storage

·         Ornaments—Protect fragile objects such as glass figurines and holiday ornaments when moving or placing them in storage. To keep track of Christmas decorations, line the cups of an egg carton with cotton, foam, or tissue paper and use to store bulbs and ornaments.

·         Use an egg carton to store small change that doesn’t fit in your wallet. Separate the coins by numerical value so they are easy to sort, see, and reclaim.

·         Office—Use inside a drawer to hold paper clips, eraser stubs, rubber bands and push pins.

·         Egg cartons are great for holding small pieces of jewelry, spools of thread and sewing needles (weave them through the inside top cover for safety). If you’re traveling, hold the container together with a large rubber band so it won’t open in your suitcase.

·         Love to golf? Sort your extra balls, store, and stack neatly in egg cartons.

·         To help boots maintain their perfect upright form (especially during the spring and summer months), place an egg carton inside the opening of each.

Kids

·         Egg cartons are very useful for game and toy storage. Never lose (or step on) those doll shoes, game pieces, dice, and Legos again!

·         Store the egg cartons for later use as a children's art project. Have the kids cut out the individual egg-shaped bumps and turn them upside down, then decorate them as "egg people". Decorate the rectangular tops of the cartons as trays.

·         Create a neat finger-painting tray for your messy budding artists.

Crafts

·         Keep sewing notions, craft items, art supplies, well organized.

·         Compartmentalize beads of various sizes and colors. You can also use it to store pastels, charcoal and colored chalk.

·         A carton made of polystyrene works great as an artist’s palette, giving you the ability to separate shades of watercolor and acrylic paints. Detach the top and use it for mixing.

Packaging

·         Shipping material – If you plan to mail something fragile, simply cut up a few polystyrene egg cartons to make lightweight packing material to protect the contents. They are made of the same material as packing peanuts!

For more recycled projects, visit Earth911.