The Tetra Pak® package is used especially for the storage and preservation of products for the food industry, such as milk or boxed juices; the material (carton, plastic, and aluminum) of which the Tetra Pak® packages are composed is perfectly recyclable and usable.
Recycling is carried out in transformation plants which take advantage of the cardboard, which corresponds to an average of 75% of the package and with which molded pulp products are made; and the remaining 25% corresponds to plastic and aluminum waste or PolyAluminum with which ecological points can be made or pelletized polyaluminum for plastic parts such as industrial floors, mats, baskets, etc.
Currently, D1 Stores, in alliance with Tetra Pak, managers, and allied transformers, seek to improve and contribute to the chain of use of these packages based on the principle of Extended Product Responsibility (EPR), and in the future market, these recycled products, to contribute to the circular economy system in D1 Stores.
What happens to our packaging after the yellow container?
The trucks collect the containers from the yellow container and take them to a sorting plant where they are separated by type of material, forming bales with each type of container.
The bales of Tetra Pak packages are transferred to the recycling plant. At the recycling plant, the Tetra Pak packages are mixed with water and agitated in a hydro pulper to separate the paper fibers from the rest of the materials. It’s a simple process, very similar to paper recycling.
Our packages are recyclable. Do you know how they can be given a second life?
Most of our packaging (around 70%) is made from cardboard from responsibly managed forests and other controlled sources (FSC® seal). The paper fibers resulting from the recycling process are used to make high-quality recycled craft paper.
It is then used to manufacture numerous products: paper bags, corrugated cardboard, cardboard boxes and cases, egg cups, etc.
It is a resistant paper, highly appreciated by the industry, which can then be recycled again.
Example of Circular Economy: recently, some of our additional material factories have started using recycled cardboard boxes, 23% coming from the recycling of used beverage cartons. We are exploring the incorporation of these recycled fibers in another secondary packaging as well.
What are the advantages of Tetra Pak?
In practical and ecological terms, Tetra Pak offers us three clear advantages:
1.- Space saving, since due to its square shape, the liquid it contains occupies 95% of the volume of the package.
2 .- Preserves flavors and nutritional values for a long time; this is because it is vacuum packed and does not enter the light.
3.- It is composed of three basic materials (75% cardboard, 20% low-density polyethylene, and 5% aluminum), all recyclable.
In summary, the Tetra Pak is considered “the package of the future” unfortunately, most of these packages are not recycled and are currently polluting somewhere, so it is important that we begin to separate the Tetra Pak at home as well as in our workplaces.
It is very common that when we think about recycling Tetra Pak, we ask ourselves the following questions:
If it has aluminum, plastic, and paper, in which trash can, I deposit the Tetra Pak?
Different situations may arise, ranging from the ideal situation to the one in which we do not have a garbage can.
a) There is a specific trash can for Tetra Pak. Fortunately, in places with high consumption of Tetra Pak, we will find this can, more and more companies, restaurants, schools, and industries that have one.
b) There are two garbage cans for inorganic waste: Inorganic Recyclable and Inorganic NOT recyclable. In this case, we will deposit our Tetra Pak in the Inorganic Recyclable trash can.
c) We only have two options, organic and inorganic: We deposit our Tetra Pak in the inorganic one.
d) There is only one garbage can: If this is the only option, we remind you that the Tetra Pak has the advantage that we can compress it so that it occupies less space; for example, if we drink juice, we drain it well, we compress it, and we take it with us until we find the appropriate garbage can or until we get home.