‘We’re not just square, we’re circular!’ Beverage carton recycling campaign launches in Europe
Some European Union Member States reach rates above 70%; but in others the rate is much lower.
The ACE has launched a four month campaign, ‘We’re not just square, we’re circular’, across Europe. This campaign seeks to “raise awareness and build understanding that beverage cartons are recyclable and being recycled at scale in Europe… and aims to highlight the low carbon footprint of beverage cartons due to the renewability of materials used.”
On average, beverage cartons consist of 75% paperboard; 21% polymers (to prevent leakage) and 4% aluminium (to protect drinks from light and oxygen). The ACE says that all materials are fully recyclable, with a water-based process used to separate paperboard from non-fibre layers.
ACE is a European platform for beverage carton manufacturers and their paperboard suppliers to benchmark and profile cartons as renewable, recyclable and low carbon packaging solutions. Its members include Tetra Pak, SIG Combibloc, Elopak, Stora Enso, Imatra and BillerudKorsnäs.
