This includes Pringles tubes and packaging for products including hot chocolate and nuts.
Residents can now recycle these containers alongside other food and drink cartons via specialist bring banks at HWRCs throughout the Merseyside. The MRWA told letsrecycle.com Veolia could not currently accept this type of packaging in commingled kerbside collections for separation at Merseyside’s material recycling facilities.
Councillor Tony Concepcion, chairperson of MRWA, said: “Previously, paper containers with metal ends – such as Pringles tubes – could not be recycled in our region, but we were keen to take this opportunity to include them.
“Merseyside residents have always responded well to the different schemes we’ve implemented at our HWRCs, and we hope that they will take full advantage of this new service.”
The MRWA launched the service in partnership with Veolia and the Alliance for Beverage Cartons & the Environment (ACE UK) as part of Recycle Week.
Cartons
ACE UK has provided the MRWA with a bring bank service for food drink cartons for more than 10 years.
In March, ACE UK announced an expansion to the materials that its recycling banks accepted (see letsrecycle.com story). A spokesperson for ACE UK told letsrecycle.com that paper containers with metal ends were now accepted at 334 recycling points covering 100 local authorities across the UK.
ACE UK provides councils with local PR tools free of charge to help them communicate the service changes to residents.
Material collected from the bring banks is sent to ACE UK’s Stainland recycling facility in West Yorkshire, run by consumer products producer Sonoco Alcore.
Fibre from the recycled cartons is fed directly into Sonoco Alcore’s paper mill on the same site, to be turned into industrial coreboard.
Experience and expertise
Richard Hands, CEO of ACE UK, said: “ACE UK has been successfully running the industry’s recycling programme for the last 15 years, driving significant increases in carton recycling as part of its role as the UK’s food and drink carton industry trade body.
Today, 93% of local authorities collect food and drink cartons for recycling through either bring banks or kerbside collection– Richard Hands, CEO of ACE UK
“We have worked closely with local authorities and waste management companies so that today 93% of local authorities collect food and drink cartons for recycling through either bring banks or kerbside collection.”
The spokesperson said ACE UK’s “primary focus” remained on increasing food and drink carton recycling across the country, but it was happy to share its experience and expertise to support the development of recycling for other packing products “where relevant”.
Merseyside
Serving more than 1.5 million people in the Liverpool city region, the MRWA had a household waste recycling rate of 37.2% in the 2019/20 financial year, the latest available data.
The waste disposal authority has contracts with several companies for the collection and treatment of waste. In 2009, the MRWA awarded Veolia a 20-year waste management and recycling contract worth £640 million (see letsrecycle.com story). Under this contract, Veolia operates the 14 HWRCs across Merseyside.
The MRWA says it incurs no additional costs through the scheme, as it is managed by Veolia under the terms of the contract. The waste authority receives no revenue for the packaging.
Michael Wake, contract manager at Veolia, said: “We’re delighted to be expanding the types of materials that are accepted at Recycling Centres in Merseyside. Recycling is a great example of how you can make small changes to contribute to a greener environment, by keeping materials in the loop and preserving raw materials.”
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