UK’s first beverage carton recycling plant opens
British Minister for Resource Management, Lord de Mauley, has officially opened the UK’s only dedicated beverage carton recycling facility, located in Stainland, West Yorkshire. Capable of recycling up to 40% (25,000 tonnes) of the cartons manufactured each year for the UK food and drink market, the plant is expected to significantly boost recycling rates. The plant is a joint initiative between the Alliance for Beverage Cartons & the Environment (ACE) UK – representing the leading beverage carton manufacturers Tetra Pak, Elopak and SIG Combibloc – and paper and packaging producer Sonoco Alcore.
Sonoco Alcore will use the virgin wood fibres found in cartons and turn them into industrial-strength coreboard at its paper mill located on the same site. This will then be made into 100% recyclable tubes and cores, which are used to wrap paper, man-made fibre yarns, and metal and plastic film around for industrial applications.
As the new facility is now open, kerbside collection of beverage cartons and UK carton recycling rates are expected to increase – making it much easier for consumers to recycle their carton packaging, according to ACE UK. Previously, the used cartons were exported to Sweden for recycling. It is estimated that the new facility will lead to an estimated annual reduction of 122 tonnes of transport-related CO2. When running at its full capacity of 25,000 tonnes per annum, the UK carton recycling facility has the potential to reduce landfill taxes and gate fees for local authorities.
Cartons collected in over 180 local authority areas are already set to come to the site for recycling. By the end of 2013, ACE UK expects another 10 local authorities to start collecting cartons in their kerbside service and send them to the carton recycling facility. Richard Hands, chief executive, ACE UK, comments: “The ultimate aim of our members –Tetra Pak, Elopak and SIG Combibloc – is to meet the requirements of retailers, manufacturers and consumers for packaging that is easy to recycle. Kerbside recycling schemes provide the most convenient collection method for consumers and we expect more cartons to be collected in this way now that local authorities have a secure domestic market for this material stream. While we have already made great progress – the number of local authorities collecting cartons at the kerbside has increased more than ten-fold in the last six years – we’re really excited by this development and its potential to further transform carton recycling in the UK.”
The fine polymer and aluminium layers used in beverage cartons (the latter only for long-life products), to prevent leakage and provide a protective barrier to oxygen (respectively), are also separated as part of the recycling process. Several different approaches for recycling and/or recovering this fraction are currently being assessed and a UK solution will be in place in 2014. The polythene and aluminium will be stored until then – it will not be landfilled or exported.
