Wherever you seem to look you seem to find a discarded Tetra Pak. Many ask why these Paks are not being recycled in the UK with the same application as other discarded containers. The fact is that the recycling of Tetra Pak containers is severely lacking in the UK and, whilst there are many recycling services, Tetra Pak seems to be the “forgotten rubbish” with many centres not offering the service of recycling them.
There are approximately 2 billion Tetra Paks used every year in the United Kingdom and, of these, only four percent are being recycled. The main reason this is so is due to the lightness of the cartons themselves. Paper and glass are much heavier than Tetra Pak so the recycling of these products goes a lot further to meeting the weight targets set by the government. This means that the councils would much rather focus on these items.
The company itself realises that this is quite a large problem and has partnered with Tesco to provide facilities where people can drop off their Tetra packs for recycling. They have also embarked upon a campaign to encourage councils to promote the recycling of their containers.
Recycling is always a great idea and the advantage of recycling Tetra Paks is no different. Firstly, recycled Tetra Pak materials can be used in the manufacture of other paper based products and also, the more recycling of these containers; the less landfill will be required to dispose of them. In fact, there are many great ideas for the use of recycled Tetra Paks and it’s about time the councils recognise the need for this initiative.