Beverage carton recycling


New facility to play ACE card in recycling


On September 3 the UK’s only dedicated beverage carton recycling facility will be officially opened by Lord de Mauley. Fay Dashper reports on a new phase in beverage carton recycling in the UK.


Fay Dashper Recycling operations manager, ACE UK


A 18 September 5 2013


PARTNERSHIP project between the Alliance for Beverage Cartons & the Environment (ACE) UK’s members, Tetra Pak, Elopak and SIG Combibloc and


packaging producer Sonoco Alcore will be capable of recycling up to 40% (25,000 tonnes/1.25 billion) of the cartons used in the UK each year. Laid end-to-end, these cartons would circle the earth six times. Sonoco Alcore will take the quality fibres in


cartons and turn them into industrial-strength coreboard at its paper mill that is located on the same site, in Stainland, near Halifax, West Yorkshire. Overall the ACE UK facility has the potential to produce 15,500 tonnes of new coreboard, which is then made into cores and tubes at Sonoco’s converting plants for use in the paper, man-made fibre yarns and plastic film markets. The polythene and aluminium layers used


in some beverage cartons to prevent leakage and provide a barrier to light and oxygen are also separated as part of the reprocessing. ACE UK is assessing different approaches for recycling and/or recovering these and expects to have a UK solution in place in 2014. Until then, the polythene and aluminium will be stored; it will not be landfilled or exported.


Benefits for local authorities UK recycling rates are expected to increase dramatically as the new facility offers numerous benefits to local authorities. By creating a UK market with a defined recycling


process, the facility will make it much more appealing for local authorities to collect cartons from the kerbside. By way of context, research has shown that switching from bring banks to kerbside collections, recycling rates can increase by up to six times. Plus, by including beverage cartons as part of existing kerbside recycling collections, local authorities can expect an overall improvement in participation from residents, who find it easier to distinguish what can be included. At the same time, diverting used beverage


cartons from landfill avoids associated tax and gate fees, and if the UK plant runs at its full capacity of 25,000 tonnes, this will potentially reduce these costs by an average total of £3.6 million. By reducing transport emissions, diverting


valuable resources from landfill and increasing recycling rates, the new facility has the potential to help local authorities achieve their sustainability targets.


How will the reprocessing work? Cartons can be pulped in a standard paper pulper, but they take longer to pulp than newspaper or cardboard, and therefore can end up as rejects within a batch pulping processes. This new facility is different as the pulping line has been specifically designed to recycle the fibres found within laminated packaging, such as cartons, therefore making it a much more efficient process. The pulper’s rotor arm has soft teeth, which helps to keep the polymers and aluminium in large sheets, stopping them slipping into the fibre stream. This results in more fibres (as more are


separated) and no contamination to the clean fibre stream. The process at the new facility is


straightforward. Once the baled cartons arrive at the mill


they are loosely fed along a conveyor belt, dropped into the pulper with cold water and pulped for about 20 minutes until a slurry is created. This slurry is then diluted to wash the fibre away from the polymers and aluminium foil (polyAl), with the production system allowing the polyAl to flow in one direction and the fibre in the other. The polyAl is pumped into a washing


drum, ensuring that as much fibre as possible is captured and that the remaining polyAl is as clean as can be. The polyAl is cleaned, compressed and then baled. The fibre, after it has been separated


from the polyAl, is pumped (via a poire and cyclone cleaner) into an energy efficient, three stage screening process. This guarantees that any grit or small pieces


of polyAl are removed and the cleanest fibre is sent on, ready to be blended with other fibre sources to make coreboard.


Recycled in the UK By using this facility to recycle their residents’ cartons local authorities know they will be recycled in the UK, which means they can also fulfil the ‘no export’ policies they may have for collections. Environmental responsibility is an


operational imperative, but these actions are often dictated by financial accountability. The new recycling facility has some persuasive financial arguments in its favour too. We all know how volatile the market is,


with price fluctuations creating uncertainty. The new facility will help create a domestic


end destination for beverage cartons, providing local authorities with a fixed price per tonne available for cartons delivered; offering some welcome stability.


www. r e c y c l i n gwa s t ewo r l d . c o . u k Ten years ago only one local authority


collected cartons from the kerbside for recycling, but over the past six years, beverage carton recycling in the UK has grown rapidly. Since the beginning of 2011 alone, the


number of UK local authorities collecting cartons at the kerbside for recycling has risen from 31% to over 51%, (207 local authorities). When ACE UK’s own bring-bank system


is included, beverage cartons are collected in 90% of UK local authority areas, making it much easier for consumers to recycle their carton packaging. However, until now cartons couldn’t be


specifically recycled in the UK. Instead, they were exported after collection, emissions


to the process. An estimated annual saving of 122 tonnes of CO2


adding transport miles and CO2 in reduced transport


emissions will result in sending cartons to the UK facility instead of overseas. Beverage carton reprocessing is evolving


and the resultant ripple effect will only have positive outcomes for those involved. The already low carbon footprint of cartons


will become even lower, and much needed valuable materials will go back into the UK economy, instead of abroad - something householders have come to expect. This innovative facility is allowing the UK


to move towards a circular economy; making for faster evolution and transforming beverage carton recycling in the process. The new facility will drive a step-change in


beverage carton recycling in the UK. Cartons collected in over 180 local authority areas are already set to come to the ACE UK facility for recycling. By the end of 2013, ACE UK expects 10 more local authorities to start collecting cartons in their kerbside service and send them to the carton recycling facility.


RWW Recycling & WA S T E W O R L D


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