Sort it out: Beverage carton industry demands separate recycling to support Irish circularity

11 Jul 2023 --- The Alliance for Beverage Cartons and the Environment (ACE) Ireland is calling for the introduction of recycling targets for specific packaging types, such as beverage cartons, to boost the collection and sorting of recyclable packaging.

The National Waste Management Plan outlines that Ireland’s recycling rate has shown little increase over the last decade, stating that just 16% of the packaging waste generated in 2019 was recycled in Ireland. 

The circularity plan sets out a framework for preventing and managing waste in the country between 2023-2029. It includes targets, policies and actions to enable the waste and resource sector to accelerate the transition to a circular economy. 

Consultation response
In July 2023, ACE Ireland made a submission as part of the statutory consultation phase of the plan, declaring that it supports the overall approach taken in the draft National Waste Management Plan, mainly to improve the capture of materials to optimize circularity. 

“We recognize this as an important step in improving Ireland’s waste collection and reducing waste generation. We are encouraged to see a focus on increasing recycling rates listed as a key priority within the plan and an acknowledgment that Ireland is struggling to achieve the ambitious recycling targets set by the EU,” says ACE. 

Ireland’s recycling rate has shown little increase over the last decade, according to the National Waste Management Plan.But it stresses that to reach recycling targets, greater support must be provided to the country to develop sorting and recycling infrastructure. 

“We believe the National Waste Management Plan for a Circular Economy presents the opportunity to set a recycling target for beverage cartons, actioning the 2020 commitment made in the Waste Action Plan for a Circular Economy 2020-2025 to set specific packaging format and product targets, for example F&B cartons, to continue Ireland’s progression and attain EU packaging, recovery and recycling targets,” the alliance adds.

Beverage cartons are included in the national online recycling guide “MyWaste’s” list for household curbside collection. However, they are treated as a non-target material by materials recovery facilities (MRFs) and typically not sorted, meaning cartons collected are usually recycled as part of a mixed fiber or cardboard stream. 

But ACE asserts that beverage cartons should be sorted and sent to a specialist facility for recycling so that all their component materials can be recycled. It says that this requirement would improve the recycling of beverage cartons and reduce the proportion of non-target material entering traditional paper mills. 

Waste sector collaboration
The non-fiber elements of the beverage carton, comprising low-density PE liners, high-density PE caps and aluminum foil, are also recyclable, according to ACE. Its carton recycling facility in Halifax, UK – one of 20 such plants throughout Europe – is available to receive sorted used beverage cartons from Irish MRFs, claims the association. 

The argument is that a specific beverage carton recycling target would result in better recycling data and greater transparency to enable the progress of beverage carton recycling to be tracked and reported more accurately.

The beverage carton industry currently collaborates with the waste management sector to improve carton recycling and has set targets of 90% collection and 70% recycling by 2030. Notably, the industry recently partnered with Panda to install robotic sorting technology at Panda’s Ballymount MRF to sort cartons. 

“This [collaboration] demonstrates our recognition of the principle of embedding co-ownership into the responses to the challenges identified as part of the National Waste Management Plan,” states ACE. 

Realizing EU recycling targetsACE asserts that beverage cartons should be sorted and sent to a specialist facility for recycling.
Supported by binding targets, recycling rates will be further improved through investment in sorting capability at Irish MRFs. This investment will allow packaging such as beverage cartons, which are low-carbon and made from renewable materials, to be recycled and support Ireland’s transition to a circular economy.

“We encourage the regional waste management planning offices to consider introducing recycling targets for more specific material types, including beverage cartons, as part of Volume II in the National Waste Management Plan,” stresses ACE.

“This would be a positive development, which would improve the quantity and quality of materials recycled, through increased collection and sorting, as part of Ireland’s wider challenge to achieving EU targets.”

Last month, the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said it would be willing to increase packaging recycling targets for waste wood following a call to action by the Wood Recyclers’ Association (WRA).

“If introduced, higher packaging recycling targets for waste wood would increase the level of support that the wood reprocessing industry (including panel board and animal bedding manufacturers) receives from packaging producers through the producer responsibility system for packaging,” Julia Turner, WRA’s executive director, told Packaging Insights.

Edited by Natalie Schwertheim