EU beverage carton recycling rate rises for 12th consecutive year 

27 Sep 2018 --- The beverage carton industry has welcomed the latest figures on beverage carton recycling in the EU, showing that 48 percent of cartons were recycled in 2017. This is up from 47 percent in 2016.

“ACE members have a long-standing commitment to recycling. Having very much welcomed the revised Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive and the introduction of mandatory separate collection of packaging waste, ACE is working with national beverage carton associations to support recycling performance across Europe,” says, Annick Carpentier, Director General of the Alliance for Beverage Cartons and the Environment (ACE) in Brussels.

Although beverage cartons come in a wide range of shapes and sizes, all of them can be recycled, with the overwhelming majority of UK local authorities now collecting cartons for recycling, either at kerbside or through bring bank collections.

Member of  ACE – BillerudKorsnäs, Elopak, SIG, Stora Enso and Tetra Pak – have also launched a new platform to coordinate the industry’s engagement in recycling across Europe, explains Carpentier. ith the implementation of EU waste legislation and new industry initiatives, it is hoped by the member that the trend of carton recycling will continue. 

“Our sector is committed to supporting and promoting beverage carton recycling and the continuing upward trend in the EU carton recycling rate in 2017 is good news,” says Richard Hands, Chief Executive of ACE UK, which represents carton manufacturers Tetra Pak, Elopak and SIG Combibloc in the UK.

“We in the UK also welcome the revised Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive – which the UK Government has already said it will implement. Our focus continues to be on building access to recycling facilities for all. Last year we hit our milestone of two out of every three or 66 percent of UK local authorities collecting beverage cartons at kerbside for recycling, and this is now at 67 percent.”

“When recycling bring banks are included, 92 percent of local authorities now collect beverage cartons for recycling, ensuring that the vast majority of households in the UK have access to a carton collection system,” Hands adds.