Aside from the image above clearly being a carton of “Own Brand” orange juice, the container that it comes in is called a Tetra Pak (or Tetra Brik). Nearly everyone will be familiar with these types of cartons as they’re used all over the world to contain and prolong the life of the liquid inside. From fruit juice to milk and yogurt, the Tetra Pak “brick” comes in all shapes and sizes, but can it be recycled? As we’re of London’s leading recycling and waste management companies, we thought we’d look into it and find the answer.
Can I recycle my Tetra Pak carton?
Even though the Tetra Brik has been around since the 1960s, until fairly recently the answer was usually no and your Tetra Pak “Brik” would be thrown in the bin along with your non-recyclable supermarket waste and other household items that were destined for landfill. Nowadays, things have changed and most local councils are happy to accept them with other recyclable materials.
So yes, your Tetra Pak can now be recycled!
Why couldn’t the Tetra Brik be recycled before?
Since the Tetra Pak design mainly consists of a layer of paper/cardboard (paperboard) on the outside glued to a layer of aluminium foil on the inside with a plastic cap on top, a way hadn’t been found to separate the material efficiently and so an unimaginable number Tetra cartons were seen as disposable and simply binned.
How are they recycled?
In general, our rubbish removal service centres around collecting and recycling household and business waste whereby it’s simply sorted into various categories (e.g. paper, metal, glass etc.) where it can be sent for recycling. For Tetra Paks, it’s a more specialised (although fairly straightforward) process; they’re basically put in a huge “washing machine” for around 20 minutes and pulped until the materials separate. Once this happens, each material can be recycled. The short video (less than one minute) below sums it up perfectly.
What recycling method do I use?
Fortunately, there’s a really useful website that will tell you how to recycle your Tetra Pak carton wherever you live in the country. Each local authority up and down the UK is listed, including a breakdown of the different areas in cities like London.
Also, don’t forget to wash and squash your Tetra Brik first so that it’s cleaner and takes up less space; leave the plastic cap on too, as this can also be recycled.
Conclusion
So, if you previously thought that your Tetra Pak brick couldn’t be recycled, now you can sleep easy at night safe in the knowledge that your old carton could be part of the plastic garden furniture, supermarket containers or building materials you buy in the future.
What recycling bin would these go in?
Thanks for the question. You’ll need to check with your local council as not all of them accept Tetra Paks for recycling. If that’s the case in your area, they’ll need to go in the general household waste bin. Although many other local authorities will recycle them, their policies may vary regarding which bin (or bag) they should go in. Either way, you’ll have to contact them or check their website to confirm this. It’s also possible that the information may be printed on the side of the bin/bag already, so you should check that first.
Hi, Do you know how much of the 60,000 tonnes of food and drink cartons used each year are actually recycled in the UK? My understanding is that it could be as low as 4%-5% despite 60% of local authorities collecting this material for recycling at the kerbside. Many thanks
Good article. my local council allow me to recycle tetra pak cartons. I have to put them in the same rubbish bag as cardboard and tin cans.
Hi, thanks for the explanation, I guessed it would be something like that (and the plastic cap is obvious I suppose).
I suspect that an awful lot are in fact being put in the wrong recycling containers, because when I did a straw poll at the Westcourt Arms (arguably not a statistically robust sample) half the people I asked said “no they can’t be recycled”, and the other half said they go in the cardboard recycling. You have to read the guidance really carefully before you discover that they go with plastic recycling. It might be useful for TetraPak to print some guidance on the cartons themselves – tho I guess that’s difficult because local recycling arrangements vary so much.
Our local authority (Medway) accepts Tetra-Pak cartons for recycling. Well done them. Interestingly though, we are advised not to put them in the ‘carboard’ bag, but instead to put them in the ‘Other recycling’ bag along with glass, metal, and rigid plastic packaging. Why is that?
Hi Meredydd
It’s most likely because a Tetra Pak is made from a mixture of different, layered materials . Although cardboard is on the outside, the interior lining isn’t. Also, the caps on many of them are made of plastic. If they’re put into cardboard and paper recycling bags, they can contaminate the entire batch.
Hi I live in peacehaven, east sussex. Until recently there were 2 sites for tetrapak “banks” for recycling tetrapak. But all the public recycling banks in peacehaven have been removed, due to horrendous fly-tipping. I’ve asked Lewes council if they can incorporate tetrapak collection with the fortnightly household recycling. “No-in most cases it is more harmful to the environment to recycle” so they are incinerated along with generalhousehold waste. Is this right?
Hi Alyson, thanks for the contribution. I’ve had a quick check and it does appear to be the case. On page two of this PDF document that’s published on the Lewes District Council website regarding what can’t be recycled, and it says (under “We are unable to collect the following items”) that they don’t allow “Poly and wax-lined items (such as milk cartons or Tetra Pak)”
The link for the TetraPak recycle facility doesn’t work :(
Hampshire LANDFILL all the TetraPak and do not provide any recycling facilities. I used to travel to Surrey to recycle the packs, but last week, the facility advised me that they no longer recycle the TetraPak, it’s all been sent to landfill.
I’m extremely concerned, as it’s purchased as a recyclable packaging, but no council near us recycle it. Instead we are fighting the build of the biggest Incinerator in Europe being built on our South Downs. This goes against every concept of green and clean.
Any help would be much appreciated.
Hi Ginny. Thanks for your comment and for letting us know about the broken link. Oddly enough, there is also a page on Tetra Pak’s own website that provides info on where to recycle (see this page) but that also seems to be broken too for some reason. According to their website, they do say that they have an industry body, an organisation called ACE UK. I checked on that website and they do provide a similar service with an interactive map so I’ve updated the broken link you reported with the new info. Have another go and see if it helps.
If not, it may suggest that many councils are no longer on-board with recycling them, so your experience may not be unique. I’m not sure what this spells for the future but it may be worth asking Hampshire council what their reason is for not recycling Tetra Paks. I suspect they may say that it isn’t cost-effective, but if you do enquire and find out, it’d be interesting to know.
Thank you !
Thank you that is good to know.