SAN ANTONIO – For those who live in San Antonio, the list of item that you can now place in the blue recycle bins just got longer.
"You're looking at milk, juice cartons; the little juice boxes that you get for kids," said Tiffany Edmonds, spokesperson for the City of San Antonio's Solid Waste Management Department.
Any carton-like item will now be accepted, a change from previous policy due to changes in how cartons are now made.
"Before, milk cartons, juice cartons couldn't be recycled because they used to have a wax coating. If you remember when you were little, you used to scratch on it; it's waxy, but now these cartons have a plastic coating," said Edmonds.
The universal change to the plastic coating allows cities like San Antonio to take another step towards a greener future.
"As we continue to grow we want to show people that there are more objects that they can stop putting in their garbage and they can now place in blue recycling carts," said Edmonds.
San Antonio will also continue a pilot program in which 30,000 residents have received green bins. The bins allow residents to throw away soiled material like pizza boxes and napkins along with grass clippings and leaves to create compost. The program remains in a trial stage, but could be extended city wide at a later date.