Following concerns about the difficulty of recycling Tetra Pak cartons in this country (see letsrecycle.com story), the company said councils would be able to bid for money to set up new collection services.
– Peter Knutsson
Over 2 billion Tetra Pak cartons were sold to shoppers in the UK last year, but at present they are collected for recycling in just 40 local authority areas.
There is only one plant in the UK capable of recycling cartons – the Smith Anderson mill in Fife – but this is currently processing far less than its 15,000 tonne per annum capacity because of the lack of sufficient collections.
Tetra Pak has set itself the goal of reaching a 10% post-consumer recycling rate and “having some sort of collection system in every local authority area in the UK, such as a kerbside or bring-bank collection” by 2008.
In addition to the fund, Tetra Pak is recruiting a dedicated recycling officer to help administer the fund which will be available from 1 April 2006.
Peter Knutsson, managing director of Tetra Pak UK said: “We are committed to expand carton recycling in the UK and to contribute to the UK’s overall recycling targets. We want to overcome the misconception that cartons cannot be recycled by providing financial help to local authorities who wish to provide carton collection facilities for people in their area.”
Fund
The new fund comes on the back of consultations with Defra, WRAP and LARAC, as well as research on barriers to recycling Tetra Pak cartons.
The company said funding would be available to individual local authorities and community recycling groups who want to introduce carton recycling. Funding would be available to help them finance collection points such as bring banks, the provision of kerbside collection services, transportation costs and baling equipment.
Tetra Pak will also support public awareness campaigns to help promote the new schemes, it said.
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The packaging company is also in discussions with waste management companies, collection contractors and material recycling facility operators, it said.
Mr Knutsson said: “We have ambitious targets for an environmental performance, and recycling is a key part of the continuous improvements we are seeking.”
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