September 15, 2026
By the time a carton reaches a recycling facility, many of the factors that determine its journey have already been set in motion. The way it is designed, the systems used to collect and sort it, and the policy frameworks that support investment all influence whether materials are recovered and recycled.
Together, these elements form what we call "push" mechanisms: the practical conditions that move recyclable materials into the system, from better design and clearer rules to stronger collection, sorting and funding models. While the specifics vary from one market to another, effective recycling systems often rely on a common set of foundations that can be strengthened over time.
"What gives me confidence is that we already know the building blocks needed for effective recycling systems. The opportunity now is to connect these pieces more deliberately, so that policy, design and infrastructure reinforce one another and create the push needed to scale what works," says Kinga Sieradzon, Vice President, Sustainability Operations at Tetra Pak.
Design: the first push into the recycling system
Every food and beverage carton has a primary role: protect food safely. The layers of paperboard, polymers and, aluminium are there to keep perishable food safe without refrigeration. But the decisions made at that design stage also shape what happens after use.
This makes design one of the first push mechanisms in the recycling system. A carton that is easier to collect, sort and process gives recyclers a better starting point. It can also help strengthen confidence across the value chain, from packaging producers and sorters to paper mills and policymakers.
Industry guidelines, such as 4evergreen's Circularity by Design Guidelines and the Food and Beverage Carton Alliance's Design for Recycling Guidelines, help build that shared understanding. They support common expectations for what “designed for recycling” means in practice, so that packaging producers, sorters and recyclers all work from the same definition.
"Design for recycling is no longer a consideration at the end of the development process," Kinga says. "It has become a design principle from the beginning. The more aligned we are across the value chain, the more effective recycling systems can become."
Innovation that strengthens the first push
Designing for recycling is an ongoing journey of innovation and improvement. No single innovation solves recycling on its own, but each design improvement can strengthen the first push by making cartons easier to collect, sort and process.
Tetra Pak invests approximately €100 million annually in packaging R&D, much of it aimed at simplifying material structures, increasing renewable content, and making cartons easier for recyclers to process, without compromising food safety.
In 2025, the company announced the first juice portion package globally to use paper-based barrier to replace the aluminium layer. García Carrión launched the Tetra Brik® Aseptic 200 ml Slim Leaf carton featuring a paper-based barrier for juice, under the flagship Don Simón brand. The package contains up to 80% paper, up to 92% renewable content and has a 43% lower carbon footprint1 compared with an aseptic package using an aluminium foil layer and fossil-based polymers.2
Simplifying the material structure of the carton from three main material groups to two, paper and polymers, can help improve material quality and recovery efficiency in recycling systems. In general, cartons with a higher fibre yield can be more attractive to recycling mills.
The policy push for effective recycling systems
Packaging design can help unlock recycling opportunities, but it cannot deliver recycling outcomes on its own. For materials to be collected, sorted and recycled, the right systems need to be in place. Policy is one of the most important push mechanisms because it can help create the conditions that support investment, coordination and long-term progress.
In Europe, the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) provides a regulatory framework for packaging recyclability and recycling performance and recycling performance. Across many other markets, evolving policy frameworks are placing greater emphasis on collection, recycling and circularity. Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is one of the key policy tools that can support this shift. By ensuring producers contribute to the management of packaging after use, EPR can help create a more stable foundation for investment and long-term improvement.
The impact of EPR, however, depends on how it is designed and implemented. The most effective frameworks do more than provide funding. They help drive performance, encourage accountability and support continuous progress across the value chain. Because markets differ in their infrastructure, maturity and needs, successful EPR systems also need the flexibility to reflect local realities.
"At its best, EPR can be a powerful enabler of progress," says Kinga Sieradzon, Vice President, Sustainability Operations at Tetra Pak. "It can provide the practical push that collection and sorting systems need to evolve over time, bringing different stakeholders together around a shared goal of keeping more valuable materials in circulation."
South Africa: policy push in practice
South Africa shows how policy can help accelerate progress in a market where collection has historically relied heavily on informal systems. It also shows how quickly momentum can build when regulation, industry collaboration and practical infrastructure come together.
EPR legislation became mandatory in South Africa in 2021 under the National Environmental Management: Waste Act. In 2023, Tetra Pak became the first member to join Petco's EPR scheme specifically for liquid board packaging (LBP). Petco is a well-established producer responsibility organisation with over 20 years of experience building recycling value chains in the country. Joining the scheme gave Tetra Pak and the wider LBP industry a collective way to fulfil legal EPR obligations. By connecting companies with shared infrastructure and partnerships across 59 municipalities, the scheme helps avoid the complexity and cost of running individual compliance programmes. This kind of shared structure matters because no single company can build a recycling system alone.
In 2024, the initiative saved 76,000 cubic metres of landfill space, the equivalent of filling more than 2,300 shipping containers.
The South Africa story is still developing, but it already shows the potential of a well-designed EPR framework. When regulation, a credible producer responsibility organisation and industry participation come together, they can create a clearer route for materials to move into the recycling system.
Connecting the push across the system
Design, policy, investment, collection and sorting infrastructure each have an important role to play. But the real push comes when they work together as part of a connected system.
No single intervention can transform recycling outcomes on its own. Packaging designed for recycling depends on effective collection systems. Collection systems depend on supportive policy and sustainable funding. And each part of the value chain must evolve alongside the others.
"What matters most is not any individual action, but how the different parts of the system come together," says Kinga Sieradzon, Vice President, Sustainability Operations at Tetra Pak. "When design, policy and infrastructure work in concert, they create the conditions for more materials to be collected, recovered and kept in circulation."
These are the conditions that help move materials into the recycling value chain. But collection and sorting are only part of the story. For recycling systems to create lasting value, recovered materials need strong end markets and sustained demand. That is where the next chapter begins.
