We continue to work towards our ambition
We’re working hard to improve the recycling value chain wherever our cartons have a presence, and in 2023, we invested nearly €40 million1 to accelerate beverage carton recycling worldwide and plan to increase this even further over the coming years to achieve greater material circularity.
In collaboration with paper mills and plastics recyclers, we are working to enable all components of used beverage cartons to be recycled. We also collaborate with several stakeholders around the world to create market demand for recycled products – and we design our carton packages to increase the fibre content and use of recycled materials. In 2023, around 1.3 million tonnes of carton packages were collected and sent for recycling, an increase of 7% in the collection of the material compared to 2022 – this makes for global effective recycling rate (ERR) of 27%2.
Certified recycled polymers
We’ve taken another step on our journey to create the world’s most sustainable food package3: we’re introducing certified recycled polymers into our carton packages. Using recycled materials means less demand for finite resources and less litter ending up in landfills and the environment. And it contributes to a circular economy.
Watch the film now.
Certified recycled polymers
We’ve taken another step on our journey to create the world’s most sustainable food package3: we’re introducing certified recycled polymers into our carton packages. Using recycled materials means less demand for finite resources and less litter ending up in landfills and the environment. And it contributes to a circular economy.
Watch the film now.
What are certified recycled polymers?
An advanced chemical recycling process allows us to address some issues surrounding the end-of-life disposal of plastics. But what are certified recycled polymers, how are they produced, and what are the benefits for food producers and consumers alike?
Verified circularity
We have reached another milestone on our path towards the ambition to deliver the world's most sustainable paper-based food and beverage package3 by introducing the use of certified recycled polymers in our packaging solutions. The sourcing and use of this recycled material are based on a mass balance attribution method and certified by trusted certifications.
The certified recycled polymers used for the caps, tops and/or coatings of some of our carton packages are sourced and allocated to our solutions according to the ISCC mass balance attribution method. This means that the plastics are made from a mix of recycled and non-recycled virgin fossil feedstock, but that the corresponding mass of recycled materials in our packaging solutions has been sourced and traced throughout Tetra Pak's supply chain, and allocated to the caps, tops and/or coatings of our carton packages based on a mass balance approach, which is verified by a third-party auditor.
Our ISCC certificate number is: ISCC-PLUS-Cert-US201-70601804.
Taking carton packages with recycled content to the next level
We’re making continuous advances when it comes to recycled content, and expanding our offering of packaging solutions using certified recycled polymers to cover new formats, caps, product categories and geographies.
Learn how Emmi, Elvir, and Lactalis Group benefited from certified recycled polymers
Learn how Valio launced Europe’s first tethered cap using certified recycled polymers
Towards a circular future
We drive circular solutions by designing recyclable food and beverage packaging, using recycled materials, and expanding collection and recycling to keep materials in use and out of landfills.
1 Both OPEX and CAPEX investments
2 Effective Recycling Rate (ERR) means the weight of recovered material targeted for recycling divided by the weight of carton packaging put on the market. ERR is the result after deductions of contaminants, impurities and excess moisture.
3 Paper-based, with the lowest possible carbon footprint, made solely from responsibly sourced renewable or recycled materials, and fully recyclable. This means creating cartons that are fully made of renewable or recycled materials, that are responsibly sourced, thereby helping to protect and restore our planet's climate, resources and biodiversity; contributing towards low carbon production and distribution; are convenient and safe, therefore helping to enable a resilient food system; and are fully recyclable.