Kerbside Recycling Collections of Beverage Cartons Reach 60% Coverage in UK

The proportion of UK local authorities collecting beverage cartons for recycling from kerbside has hit 60%, according to the latest figures released by the Alliance for Beverage Cartons and the Environment (ACE ) UK. The organisation, which represents packaging manufacturers, Tetra Pak, Elopak and SIG Combibloc, said that the figures mark a 15 fold increase on 2006 levels when just 4% of local authorities collected cartons at kerbside and follows sustained, close co-operation between ACE UK, local authorities and consumer groups. When ACE UK’s own bring-bank system is included, it said that 91% of UK local authorities now collect cartons for recycling. The latest addition to the list of authorities collecting cartons is the Norfolk Waste Partnership, comprising Norfolk County Council and the seven district councils, which pushed the percentage of UK Local Authorities collecting cartons at kerbside to 60%. “We are very pleased to play such a positive role in increasing carton recycling in Norfolk,” commented Adrian Akester, technical adviser to Norfolk Waste Partnership. “It means all households now have the opportunity to recycle far more materials at the kerbside than ever before with the aim of increasing our collective recycling rate by five to 10 per cent. Residents can now recycle beverage cartons along with a range of other materials. According to Akester, so far the response has been excellent. The news comes just over a year on from the opening of the UK’s only beverage carton recycling facility at Stainland, West Yorkshire, a partnership between ACE UK and its partner Sonoco Alcore. Capable of recycling 25,000 tonnes of cartons sorted from household and commercial waste streams, the facility (pictured above) now receives cartons from 38% of local authorities, through kerbside and bring bank schemes. According to ACE UK, beverage cartons are easily recycled using a simple pulping process, where the paperboard and non-fibre layers are separated and turned into new materials. The wood fibres can be used to produce new high-strength paper products, such as cores and tubes for consumer and industrial applications, while the polymer and foil layers can be recycled or recovered for energy recovery. Labels labels labels Richard Hands, chief executive of ACE UK explained that the organisation has also just launched our re:cartons campaign to further increase carton recycling across the UK “Through the creation of a clear, easy to understand identity that everyone can immediately associate with beverage carton recycling, it will act as a platform to promote even greater carton recycling across the country,” he said. Jane Bevis, chair of the On-Pack Recycling Label scheme added: “With household recycling rates in danger of stalling this is really important news – we know the easier you make it for consumers to recycle, the more that gets recycled.” “Combined with OPRL members providing clear on-pack advice on how cartons can be recycled, these efforts make it more likely we can hit 2020 recycling targets,” she continued. Read More Beverage Carton Recycling Rate Continues to Rise in Europe The latest figures on carton recycling in the EU have shown that 42% of beverage cartons were recycled in 2013, equivalent to approximately 425,000 tonnes of cartons and a a rise of 3% on the 2012 figures. Paper Cup Recycling Scheme Kicks off with High Profile Members at Emirates Stadium The official launch event of a London wide paper cup recycling scheme, held today at Arsenal Football Club’s Emirates Stadium, saw the addition of the UK’s largest coffee shop chain, Costa, as its latest member. Pulp Fraction Recycled into Coreboard at UK's First Carton Recycling Facility The UK’s first beverage carton recycling facility has been opened in Stainland, near Halifax by the Alliance for Beverage Cartons & the Environment (ACE) UK and paper and packaging producer Sonoco Alcore.