Tetra Pak invests in EU recycling

Tetra Pak has announced several investments designed to improve EU recycling capacity for carton packages.

Its recent investment is said to enhance the EU’s ability to recycle beverage cartons, including the non-fibre protective layers of polyethylene and aluminium, known as ‘polyAl’.

This is reportedly to support the goals of the proposed EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), by ensuring that all  components are recycled and valuable raw materials are kept in circulation for longer.

In 2023, Tetra Pak says it invested nearly €40mln to accelerate beverage carton recycling worldwide.

Tetra Pak says this will be achieved by either unlocking new collaborations or by strengthening the capabilities of established recyclers to turn all materials from post-consumer cartons into new high-quality resources and goods.

This would add to existing recycling infrastructure in the EU, where polyAl is currently processed by seven facilities (with a further six under development).

Annual capacity for polyAl1 recycling is projected to increase by over 40,000t, the equivalent of more than four billion pack units, according to Tetra Pak.

In Sweden, Tetra Pak and Axjo Group have begun a feasibility study to build a new recycling line for polyAl that will accommodate volumes from Sweden, Denmark and Norway.

In Spain, Tetra Pak and Trans Sabater have co-invested over €2mln and expanded their agreement to increase installed polyAl recycling capacity from 3,000t to 10,000t per year.

In the Netherlands, Tetra Pak has invested €1mln in Recon Polymers’ polyAl recycling plant, aiming to increase capacity to at least 8,000t annually.