Yes! Cartons are now collected by over 300 local authorities across the country. This is a relatively new service launched in 2007 by the Alliance for Beverage Cartons and the Environment (ACE UK - the UK carton industry trade body) with the aim of providing nationwide facilities to the whole of the UK by the end of 2008.
They refreshed you, now recycle them!
Firstly check that your local authority can accept them. A few local authorities collect them at the kerbside, then segregate them from paper and other materials either at a Materials Recycling Facility (MRF) or at the kerbside itself; some local authorities provide recycling banks specifically for beverage cartons at recycling centres.
We are currently adapting our bank locator to include this new information, but in the meantime you can find out if cartons are collected in your area by checking: www.tetrapakrecycling.co.uk
Beverage Cartons are a composite packaging material, in other words they are not made from paper alone but comprise of about 75% paper, 20% plastic (polyethylene) and 5% aluminium foil (for long-life products).
Baled cartons are dropped into a pulper, similar to a giant domestic food mixer, filled with water and pulped for 20 minutes. This delaminates the packaging, allowing the aluminium foil and polyethylene to be separated from the paper fibres which are recovered to make new paper products. The non-fibre remainder can be used in a number of applications including garden furniture and roofing materials.
New plasma technology is being developed to enable the total separation of the polyethylene and aluminium. This will permit the return of all three components of the carton to the productive chain as raw material.
