August 1, 2026
Building recycling value chains that perform, scale and create lasting value
Stricter packaging rules are raising the bar for everyone in food and beverage. Producers now need collection and recycling systems that can work reliably at scale by recovering materials consistently and creating enough value to keep going. When that happens, valuable materials stay in use and the whole recycling value chain is better placed to meet rising expectations.
Aseptic cartons help protect perishable food. But their role does not have to end there. When the right systems are in place, the materials in those cartons can continue creating value long after first use.
“To understand collection and recycling, we first have to look at the full life cycle of food and beverage cartons,” says Kinga Sieradzon, Vice President, Sustainability Operations at Tetra Pak.
“Their role begins with protecting food, but their materials can continue creating value long after the product has been consumed.”
The shift from recyclability to real-world recycling
For food and beverage producers, collection and recycling are not side issues. The choices made today will shape how well packaging fits into a more circular economy.
We see this as a value chain challenge, not a single-step fix. It is not enough for packaging to be designed for recyclability in mind. Recycling needs to happen in practice. This requires materials to be collected and sorted at scale, recyclers to have a reliable flow of material, and the recycled output to find buyers who see real value in it.
That means producers, policymakers, recyclers, retailers and packaging companies all have a part to play.
As Kinga puts it, “Collection and recycling must be approached as a value chain challenge, where environmental ambition and economic conditions need to work together.”
What makes recycling work at scale
A collection and recycling system only works well when each part strengthens the next.
It starts with design. Packaging has to do its first job well, but it also needs to give materials the best possible chance to stay in use after consumption. A food and beverage carton, on average, is made up of approximately 70% paperboard, 25% plastic and 5% aluminium. These layers work together to protect perishable food, and each layer can be recovered and put back to use when the right recycling infrastructure is in place.
“Design for recycling is the starting point,” says Kinga. “We need a package that protects perishable food, while also using materials that work well for recyclers.”
But design alone is not enough. Materials need to be collected and sorted, recyclers need the capacity to process them, and there needs to be demand for the recovered materials.
We often describe these conditions as “push” and “pull” mechanisms. Push mechanisms help make collection and sorting happen through infrastructure and supportive policy. Pull mechanisms create demand for the recycled materials coming out of that system, so they have real market value.
Both have to be in place, and progress depends on them moving together. When one develops faster than the other, materials can struggle to move efficiently through the system.
How policy helps create the “push”
Policy can sound abstract, but it helps create the “push” by shaping the conditions collection and recycling systems depend on. Effective policy frameworks can help improve collection and sorting performance, making more materials available for recycling.
In Europe, the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation, or PPWR, is raising expectations around packaging recyclability and recycling performance. Extended Producer Responsibility, or EPR, is one of the main tools used to finance collection and sorting systems. In simple terms, EPR means the company placing packaging on the market helps fund what happens after use, including collection, sorting and, where needed, recycling.
For producers, regulation helps determine how collection and recycling infrastructure is built and financed. Effective EPR frameworks can play an important role in supporting collection and sorting for food and beverage cartons, although their maturity still varies significantly between markets.
We have been preparing for PPWR, and that work continues. Our packaging portfolio is intended and designed for recycling, with the full product life cycle in mind, and we continue to assess it as legislation evolves in Europe and beyond.
To use Kinga's words: “We are confident the recycling rate of food and beverage cartons will meet legislative requirements in all markets, including PPWR in Europe, and that our collection and recycling strategy and ongoing efforts will play an important role in driving progress.”
How markets create the “pull”
Collection is only one part of the picture. Recovered materials need valuable end markets that help create the “pull”. That is especially true for fibre. The long, strong fibres in food and beverage cartons make them valuable for tissue and hygiene products, where softness and strength are both important. Lucart is one example of how those fibres can be turned into everyday products such as napkins, kitchen rolls and toilet paper.
“The tissue and hygiene industry really values the long, strong fibres,” says Kinga. “Any material can be valuable if you find the right application.”
PolyAl, the non-fibre material in cartons, also has an important role to play. It can be turned into durable products such as pallets and crates, giving the material practical use in logistics and transport. One example is IPL Schoeller’s reusable transport crate, which uses polyAl from food and beverage cartons as part of the material mix. Newpal and Axjo are doing similar work, turning polyAl into transport pallets and cable drums.
These applications create demand for recovered materials and help strengthen the economics of collection and recycling.
As Kinga explains, “On the collection and sorting side, policy frameworks and EPR schemes help create the economic conditions needed to recover materials at scale. On the recycling side, the economics are driven by demand and the market value of the recycled materials.”
Working across the whole chain
What is needed now is a more systemic shift: one that can unlock a recycling value chain that performs, scales and delivers lasting economic impact.
In practice, this means moving beyond isolated successes and building systems that can keep working as volumes grow, as new partners come in, and as market conditions and regulatory requirements differ.
In some places, collection and sorting systems are more mature. In others, end markets for recovered materials are stronger. One model will not work everywhere. The system has to adapt to each market's rules and infrastructure without losing momentum. That’s why collection, sorting, recycling capacity and end markets all have to develop together. For recycling to deliver lasting economic impact, the value it creates needs to be felt across the chain: by producers, brand owners, local authorities, governments, recyclers, converters, consumers, and more broadly by society through job creation, economic growth, and wider social outcomes.
We are continuing to invest across that chain. In 2025, we invested €42 million to support collection, sorting and recycling globally, while working with recyclers and other partners across carton recycling streams.
As Kinga puts it, “No single technology, company or policy can make collection and recycling work on its own. Progress depends on value chains where collection, sorting, recycling and end markets work together, so materials can stay in circulation and keep creating value.”
