Drinks cartons, such as those made by Tetra Pak, are difficult to recycle because they are made from fused layers of plastic, aluminium and paper.
But, the carton manufacturers' trade association has said that the new Smith Anderson recycling plant in Fife is now recycling 100 tonnes of cartons each week, equivalent to 3.6 million cartons.
The plant at Fettykil Mills was opened in July 2003 as a joint industry partnership between the LFCMA, and the reprocessor Smith Anderson. The facility, the only one of its kind in the UK, uses “hydrapulping” technology to turn waste cartons into paper carrier bags. The plant has the capacity to recycle a fifth of all milk and juice cartons sold in this country, but so far, the plant is only running at a third of its capacity.
But, while cartons are being processed from the commercial waste stream, collections in the household waste stream have been few and far between so far. Two community groups currently provide carton recycling collections for households, Brighton-based Magpie Co-op and Mid Devon Community Recycling.
Mid Devon
The Mid Devon group has now become the largest collector in the UK for drinks cartons, a service it provides on behalf of Mid Devon district council, along with collection services for other household materials.
Once collected, the cartons are baled and bulked up with carton waste from other waste streams before being sent to Fife for reprocessing.
The group's general manager, Ken Orchard, explained that the group asks the public to “wash and squash” their cartons so they will take up less space. He said: “Public response to the improved service has been extremely positive. The quantity and quality of cartons collected has been much higher than we had dared to hope for.”
The LFCMA said that local authorities are now trialling carton collection services, “all with positive results”. One council, Angus council, is set to roll out a kerbside collection service which will include cartons, the Association said.
Subscribe for free