Home Sustainability Planet Carton Recycling in Australia & New Zealand

​​​​​​​​​​Cartons are the most sustainable packaging option for beverages in Australia and New Zealand. With a local whole carton recycling solution, this reduces the dependency on waste exports and limits the valuable carton resource from going to landfill.

After all, all Tetra Pak used beverage cartons are fully recyclable. The paper, polyethylene and very thin layer of aluminum can all be recycled. Besides end-of-life, our cartons have a great foundation as they have a low carbon footprint (minimum climate impact) throughout their entire lifecycle compared to competing packaging systems in all segments.

Recycling works when all the necessary factors are in place and are well connected. The success of a recycling solution will depend on three important factors.

  • Establishing continuous volumes of used beverage cartons to recyclers: requires an appropriate collection programme in place as well as consumer awareness and willingness; helping consumers understand where and how to recycle right – separating waste at their households.
  • Sorting the material: the purity of the material is a very important factor for the market value of the material. This needs support from local and national governments to ensure collection and separation systems are in place.
  • Creating a demand for the material: Without a strong market for recycled materials, there is no incentive to collect and sort recyclables and produce recycled-content products. This is why we are committed to setting up a local recycling solution in Australia and New Zealand.

For Australia and New Zealand, we have invested in saveBOARD, a local recycling solution for used beverage cartons. New Zealand and Australian architects, builders, joiners and furniture makers will soon be able to replace plywood, oriented strand board, plasterboard or chipboard, with low-carbon, environmentally sustainable construction boards made from material which has already served one life as food or beverage packaging. This solution will also contribute to achieving Australia and New Zealand’s vision of a low-carbon future.

In Australia

In Australia, there is a growing reliance on local paper mills for the recycling of fibre-based all packaging materials due to the China ban China Sword policy, limiting imports of recyclable materials into China and stricter regulations by other export markets. Paper mills groups now have far more leverage and could can better dictate what type of quality they would accept. This was not an issue in the past due to the demand from export channels, where used beverage cartons was were sent in “mixed paper” bales.

The first Australian saveBOARD plant in New South Wales will reprocess used beverage cartons from September 2022, including both chilled and long-life containers collected through the container deposit schemes and kerbside recycling.
Person disposing carton in recycling bin

More facilities are also being planned to ensure used beverage cartons can be recycled around the country. To check whether your local council accepts cartons in kerbside collection or if they can be recycled through your state CDS scheme with Recycling Near You.

RecyclingNearYou.com.au Planet Ark

​​​​​In New Zealand

If you are in Auckland, you can put your used beverage cartons into your kerbside recycling bin. These cartons are then mixed with other paper and sent for recycling into new paper fibre products such as tissue paper and cardboard boxes.

Beyond this, to ensure the widest possible access for beverage carton recycling in New Zealand, Tetra Pak has invested in saveBOARD, a new industry-led recycling venture which has recently started processing used beverage cartons and turning them into ready-to-use low carbon construction materials in Te Rapa, Hamilton.

For a list of drop off points around the country where consumers can take their used beverage cartons for recycling at saveBOARD, click here.
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