The packaging company has placed five collections bins at shopping centres and civic amenity sites across the city so members of the public can drop off “paper-based drinks and liquid food cartons”.
Whilst cartons are successfully recycled in large volumes for many years throughout Europe, the UK has a long way to go.
Richard Hands, Tetra Pak
The pilot scheme will last for two years and is funded from a cash pot set up jointly by Tetra Pak and the Alliance for Beverage Cartons and the Environment (ACE).
Any local authority can take up the service and the company can also offer assistance in setting up a kerbside collection scheme after the trial is completed (see letsrecycle.com story).
Tetra Pak also collects the containers and arranges for the material to be baled before being shipped to the Orebro mill in Sweden for reprocessing. The cartons are made from paper, aluminium and plastic, and there is nowhere in the UK to recycle them.
Recycling rate
Leeds City Council wants to push its recycling/composting rate to at least 50% by 2020 and believes initiatives such as carton recycling and cash-back offers for Real Nappies can help achieve this.
It presently offers kerbside collections for paper, cardboard, cans and plastics which are collected in a green wheelie bin, every fourth week. Glass, garden waste and electrical goods can be recycled at household waste recycling centres.
Councillor Steve Smith, the council's executive board member for environmental services, said: “The residents of Leeds have always responded well to the different recycling schemes we've implemented across the city, but we've still got some tough targets to meet, both as a city and as a nation.
“We're delighted that Tetra Pak and the carton industry is supporting us to help increase the number of cartons recycled in Leeds and if the two-year trial is successful, we'd like to see the project rolled out further,” he said.
UK coverage
In July, it was estimated that 120 of the 434 district councils in the UK have some kind of beverage carton recycling scheme. Tetra Pak wants to achieve full coverage by the end of 2008.
Richard Hands, the company's environment manager and ACE chairman added: “Whilst cartons are successfully recycled in large volumes for many years throughout Europe, the UK has a long way to go. It's therefore fantastic news that Leeds is taking a lead by adding cartons to the list of materials collected for recycling and we very much hope that the initiative is successful.
“We and our industry partners are committed to increasing the level of carton recycling in the UK with the aim of reaching a national network of carton collection by the end of 2008. Our work with Leeds City Council takes us and households in the area one step closer to achieving that,” he said.
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