New Berevage Carton Recycling is First for Harlow

Residents in Harlow are now able to include milk and juice cartons in their kerbside recycling containers, as Harlow Council are incorporating Tetra Paks in their kerbside collection system thanks to a partnership with Tetra Pak Ltd and Grosvenor Waste Management Ltd. The breakthrough collection of beverage cartons gives the community the opportunity to recycle even more of their household rubbish and will be welcomed by the many keen recyclers in the area.

Each year, UK beverage carton manufacturers produce approximately 55,000 tonnes of paper-based cartons for milk, juice, soup and other liquid foods/drinks. This equates to around 2.3kg of cartons per household which could be recycled instead of thrown in the rubbish bin. Harlow has worked with Grosvenor and Tetra Pak to add cartons to its mixed kerbside recycling collections, from this month.

Once collected, the cartons will be delivered to Grosvenor’s Material Recycling Facility (MRF) in Crayford with the kerbside recycling material. The “Super MRF” sorts the packaging using award winning, pioneering technology unique to Grosvenor as an independent recycling company in the UK. After processing, the cartons are baled and transported to recycling mills, where they are turned into a number of different recycled products, including high-strength paper bags and envelopes.

Councillor Eleanor Macy, Chair of Environment and Community at Harlow Council said: “The residents of Harlow have always responded well to the different recycling schemes we’ve implemented across the district, but we’ve still got some tough targets to meet, both as a local authority and as a nation. We’re delighted that we’ve worked with Tetra Pak and Grosvenor to help increase the number of cartons recycled in our area.”

Nick Mann, National Recycling Officer at Tetra Pak Ltd, added: “Whilst cartons have been successfully recycled in large volumes for many years throughout Europe, the UK has a long way to go. It’s therefore fantastic news that, as a result of Grosvenor’s innovation, and Harlow’s initiative, Harlow can take the lead by adding cartons to the list of materials collected for recycling. At Tetra Pak, we’re committed to increasing the level of carton recycling in the UK with the aim of reaching a national network of carton collection by the end of 2008. Our work with Harlow and Grosvenor takes us, and households in the area, one step closer to achieving that.”

Mary Corin, Director of Recycling Development at Grosvenor, said: “It’s incredibly exciting to be able to add Tetra Pak to the growing list of materials that householders can recycle and we can supply to manufacturers to make recycled products. This partnership reflects our commitment to pushing the boundaries of technology within our industry and shows our constant quest for innovation to recycle more at a cost that the public and industry can afford.”

The introduction of carton collection in Harlow follows a long line of improvements that have been made over the past year. These include the introduction of shoe friends into Harlow schools, the rollout of recycling bins into flatblocks and a new waste booklet that each resident received which included the street index and useful recycling and waste reduction information.

For more information on recycling in Harlow call 01279 446655 or visit http://www.harlow.gov.uk/. For more information on beverage carton recycling, visit http://www.tetrapakrecycling.co.uk/.

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