At Tetra Pak, our end-to-end global presence means we collaborate daily with stakeholders across the value chain, supporting a circular economy by keeping valuable materials in use.
Our aseptic packaging technology is crucial to ensuring food access and nutrition by extending shelf-life without the need for refrigeration or preservatives. But global food systems use substantial resources, and it is our responsibility as industry-leaders to support the transition to a circular economy.
Designing for recyclability
Our cartons are designed to industry-standard recycling guidelines, optimised for recyclability when it completes its journey. To support this, we invest €100 million annually to further enhance the environmental profile of our carton packages, including simplifying material structures and increasing fibre content with circularity in mind.
An average carton consists of 70% paperboard – a renewable resource which we source from Forest Stewardship Council™ (FSC™) certified forests and other controlled sources. We are working to increase the renewable share of the other content within our packages, made up of 25% plastic and 5% aluminium on average. In 2023 we launched the world’s first aseptic beverage carton featuring a paper-based barrier (instead of aluminium), and are increasing the use of Bonsucro-certified sugar cane-based polymers for the plastic elements.
We’re also making continuous advancements to increasingly incorporate recycled content into our packaging, including a carton that uses certified recycled polymers linked to used beverage cartons, launched in collaboration with Lactalis last year.
Enhancing recycling
Improving collection and sorting infrastructure is also a priority for us, as it is essential to keeping valuable materials in use. We invest €40 million annually in enhancing collection and recycling infrastructure across the globe. We are also working with industry, government and consumers to truly shift the dial on recycling by creating the systemic change and multi-pronged approach that is required.
Currently, carton packages collected for recycling are sent to paper mills, which recover the fibre and separate the polyAl (the remaining mixture of polymers and aluminium). In Italy, we have a long existing partnership with Lucart, where they transform used beverage cartons into valuable end products including tablecloths, napkins, runners, and toilet paper. Many other facilities throughout Europe recycle beverage cartons in the meantime.
We are also continuously exploring commercially viable applications for the polyAl byproduct. We recently launched a new transport crate with Schoeller Allibert made from up to 50% materials from used beverage cartons, with the rest made up of raw materials from other recycled streams. The new crates, currently undergoing rigorous quality and durability tests, promise to meet high industry standards. Not only will they gradually replace over 50,000 crates at our global spart parts distribution centre in Sweden, Schoeller Allibert is also in discussions with other potential customers to adopt this innovative material for their returnable transport packaging needs.
We also recently made a joint investment of around €3 million with Yellow Dreams to develop a new recycling plant in The Netherlands, which could potentially process the entire volume of polyAl from beverage cartons recycled in Belgium and The Netherlands, and part of the volume from Germany.
At Tetra Pak, we strive to foster a circular economy by addressing resource scarcity and waste through innovation and partnerships. By sourcing materials responsibly and enhancing recycling processes, we aim to create a more sustainable future that preserves resources, ensures food safety, and supports communities globally.