The name Tetra Pak® has become synonymous with the aseptic brick package (an innovative packaging process that allows liquid food stuffs to remain shelf stable without preservatives or refrigeration). Since the early 1950s, Tetra Pak®, a Swedish company, has been packaging liquid milk in aseptic cartons. Today, with operations in over 165 countries, its cartons are used for juices, wines, soups, and sauces too. To learn more about Tetra Pak® visit: www.tetrapak.com

Comprised of 6 layers of materials, the Tetra Pak® aseptic brick allows for light weight, efficient, non-refrigerated shipment and storage of liquid foods.

To have a close look at a Tetra Pak® carton for yourself, just visit your grocer’s child-size juice section. In the USA, many “on the go” parents depend on Tetra Pak® packaged juices to keep their toddlers happy and well hydrated. So, what about milk?

By the time Tetra Pak® got its start, the USA was already developing wide spread refrigerated distribution. Remember the milkman? While the milkman serviced regional dairies and local communities, the advent of superhighways enabled trucking companies to expand distribution across the country. As trucking companies expanded so too did the distribution of refrigerated food stuffs; Americans everywhere were enjoying fresh milk.

In our fresh milk market, the Tetra Pak® concept has not fared so well; utilizing a process coined “UHT” (ultra high temperature) the milk is heated for a shorter time and at a higher temperature than the process used to produce fresh milk (pasteurization). The UHT milk (now free of all bacteria) is filled into a sterile carton (brick) creating a shelf stable, long life product. Given the higher temperature of processing required for UHT, the inherent milk sugars caramelize and give the UHT milk a bit of a “cooked” flavor rather than the familiar “fresh” taste Americans prefer. This difference in milk flavor has kept Tetra Pak® from establishing a large share of the USA liquid milk market. For beverages where UHT processing does not adversely affect flavor such as chocolate milk and juices, the aseptic brick has found better consumer acceptance.

Given that worldwide two thirds of all Tetra Pak® bricks are used for packaging milk, if a market does not have a large share of its milk packaged in aseptic bricks, it is conceivable the market development for this type of packaging will be marginal. With the average American consuming 13.5 gallons of non-flavored milk per year (equivalent to over 16 billion 32oz Tetra Paks® of milk) that is a market you do not want to be a marginal player in! However, it seems that Tetra Pak® only has a marginal share of the huge, non-flavored milk market and so concentrates in the niche for flavored milks, juices, and soup bases. So, how does Tetra Pak’s® niche position affect the recycling for aseptic bricks in the USA?

In order to develop a sound recycling system for any material, there must be a sizable volume of material to reclaim. Without a steady supply of reclaimed material, efficient processing and market development for the recyclable cannot come to fruition. Because the aseptic brick is a multilayer package of several materials, it takes ingenuity and special techniques to separate the various components and to reclaim them. In markets like the USA where Tetra Pak® use is less main- stream, emphasis on developing reclamation techniques and an infrastructure to support them is not top priority. Here in the USA, many eco-conscious consumers still think the recycling process for aseptic brick packaging is either not possible or “very expensive and awkward, and is therefore only available in a very few places”. So, what happens to the cartons when junior has finished his apple juice? Sadly, in the USA many of these cartons do not get recycled. However, in established European markets, like Germany, aseptic bricks have recycle rates greater than 65%. And, in developing markets where Tetra Pak® technology has gained a foothold due to lack of refrigerated distribution, recycling advances have grown right alongside milk sales. Recycling Tetra Pak® does not have to be “expensive and awkward “, it just needs to be done with a common sense approach that fits the particular market.

Because the aseptic brick is composed of about 75% long fiber paper, 20% low density polyethylene, and 5% aluminum, the paper market is the most developed downstream use for reclaimed aseptic bricks. The paper fibers are recovered at paper mills and make “excellent raw material for the corrugated paperboard sector”. The process to separate the paper from other materials in the brick is called hydrapulping. Basically, hydrapulping uses water and industrial strength blenders to separate the paper from the polyethylene and aluminum layers. The paper is recovered, leaving the polyethylene and aluminum as a residual.

Depending on the particular recycling market, the polyethylene and aluminum residual can be repurposed in a variety of ways. In Germany, the residual is used by the cement industry for energy recovery and bauxite replacement whereas Brazil uses it to make products like roofing materials, buckets, and brooms.

To see how Tetra Paks® are recycled in a developing nation like India, please watch this video from Mumbai:

If a complete separation of materials is required, a novel process called thermal plasma technology can be employed. After the paper has been recovered, the aluminum/polyethylene residual is heated to a high temperature in the absence of oxygen. When polyethylene is heated to a high temperature it does not burn but breaks down into smaller particles forming paraffin. The aluminum melts down and is recovered as highly pure ingots. The plasma technology is very efficient: “90% of energy yield is actually achieved in the process.” Emissions are near zero.

So, now that we have established that aseptic brick packaging is recyclable, where is recycling available? Currently, beverage carton recycling (including the aseptic brick) is available curbside in at least half of our states. Fourteen states (CA, CO, CT, FL, IL, MA, ME, MI, NJ, NY, OH, RI, UT, WA) have many communities which collect used cartons. Eight states have 3 to 10 communities with collection (AZ, GA, LA, MS, MN, NC, NE, OR), and three states have only 1 community which collects: (PA, TX, LA). Oh, and Washington, D.C. collects cartons for recycling too. According to Tetra Pak®, “20% of total US residents across 26 states (they’re counting Washington, D.C. as a state) have access to carton recycling”. With 25 states not even having one community with collection, there is a long way to go to recycle all the used beverage cartons (including regular “gable top” cartons used for fresh milk and juices too). To find out if your community has curbside collection of beverage cartons, visit:www.aseptic.org

To wrap it up, I’d like to mention a wonderful aseptic brick packaging endeavor. A Canadian company based in Québec, Groupe RCM, is working with the Québec government, Narel (a dairy cooperative), A. Lassonde Inc., (a fruit juice company) and Tetra Pak®, to build a recycling facility to recycle plastic and paper waste, “specifically Tetra Pak® aseptic containers…as well as plastic (low-density polyethylene) bags and films”. The facility will utilize a high-speed “thermokinetic” process developed by the Québec Center of Industrial Research. What is so amazing about Groupe RCM is that it is an organization with the mission to provide jobs for handicapped people and to better the environment. Groupe RCM collaborates with the regional Center of Services for Intellectual Deficiencies and provides employment for many mentally deficient individuals. The new recycling facility will add 65 more jobs that will be mostly filled by handicapped workers. I can’t give Groupe RCM enough kudos for keeping waste out of landfills and providing meaningful employment to disabled persons. Learn more about Groupe RCM at:www.groupercm.com

Come on America, with aseptic brick recycling examples like those in Canada and India, we can definitely do more!

© 2010 Recycle Life, LLC
The RecyGal^TM and the RecyGal character, logo are trademarks of Recycle Life , LLC

References for this article were obtained from: “Empowering the Bottom of the Pyramid via Product Stewardship: Tetra Pak Entrepreneurial Networks in Brazil”, Orsato, Renato, et.al, October 10, 2007, INSEAD Business School, Fontainebleau, France, “How is a juice box made?”, www.answers.com, “Tetra Pak and wine: a low carbon footprint alternative package”,www.wineenabler.com, Neil, January 25, 2009, “Commonly Recycled Materials- Aseptic Packaging” , www.obviously.com, “Refrigerated Transportation Timeline, pre-WWII”, www.33brinkster.com, “Got Data? Multiple Data Sources Track U.S. Food Consumption”, Morrison, R., et.al, March 2009, www.ers.usda.gov, www.tetrapak.com, www.aseptic.org, “A great leap forward for waste diversion- $3.5M investment in Groupe RCM plant in Yamachiche: Tetra Pak cartons, milk cartons, plastic bags and films can now be recycled into new products”, November 2009, www.newswire.ca, “Division Recuperation”, www.groupercm.com

The gift wrap industry is a big one; estimated annual sales are between $2.6 and $2.7 billion. According to Earth911, “wrapping paper and shopping bags alone account for about 4 million tons of trash annually”. Why trash? All gift wrap is simply not recyclable- many papers are coated with plastics, strewn with glitter, or laminated in foil. Unfortunately, these blended papers end up adding to our landfills. When looking for gift wrap, choose uncoated, printed papers that can be recycled. To be even more “green” use gift wrap made from recycled paper that is itself recyclable. There are several on-line retailers which offer eco-friendly gift wrap; sites like http://www.pristineplanet.com which allow you to price compare gift wrap. And, don’t forget when collecting the spent gift wrap to rip off the cellophane tape, it makes the paper non-recyclable.


Besides gift wrap concerns, items ordered on-line bring additional outer and inner packaging with them. Recently, I purchased two document type gifts from a well known internet retailer. Because my customer information is stored in the company’s database, the shopping experience went quickly and without a snag. (No waiting in a long cashier’s line, no hauling bags around the mall). Talk about avoiding stress, technology is a great thing!! Anyway, the two “same topic” items (a one page laminated quick tip guide and a thin manual) arrived at my home in separate cartons on different days. Together the items could have packed neatly in one manila envelope, yet the packaging was 10 times larger than the unbreakable products!! A bit excessive don’t you think? While the front end of my shopping experience was positive, the back end was somewhat negative. Although my gifts arrived intact and on time, the excessive packaging (the manual was also fully wrapped in plastic around a corrugated back board) put a damper on my gift giving enthusiasm. The packaging used to get the gifts to my home (for further packaging) was over the top. On a more positive note, at least one of the packing cartons was made from recycled corrugated. Fortunately, for me, the more eco-friendly carton was printed with, “Rate this packaging:” and a web address was listed. You bet I rated the entire shipping experience. We need to let retailers know that as customers we care about the impact their operations have on the environment. As for my gift, it is now being given without wrap; I can’t bear to add anything more to it.


To wrap it up, I must add that so far I have avoided Styrofoam peanuts. If the holidays bring these drain clogging polluters your way, please contact “The Plastic Loose Fill Council” http://www.loosefillpackaging.com or phone: 800-826-2214 and find a drop-off reuse/recycle location near you. “Hum”, let’s keep these “Buggers” out of the waste stream. Happy Packaging!


© 2009 Recycle Life, LLC
The RecyGal^TM and the RecyGal character, logo are trademarks of Recycle Life , LLC

References for this article were obtained from:
www.earth911,“Wrap’sody of Wraps” Gifts & Decorative Accessories, 1998, www.loosefillpackaging.com

Is the time right for MRF World to take plastics more seriously? Should plastics be at the forefront of curbside recycling? Just as co-mingling of recyclables has made collection at curbside easier, the co-mingling of information on recovered materials may provide some answers. Trust me. We are not mixing apples and oranges; the markets do share some interesting parallels. To see what drives the market dynamics behind all the plastic containers we recycle, we need to take a brief look at other recovered materials like paper, metal, and glass.

Basically, in fall of 2008, the demand for most reclaimed materials drastically fell. According to an article published in, The Gazette, Melissa Kolwaite (a spokesperson for Waste Management) said, “we have been in the recycling industry for 40 years, and the reality is that there are cycles in terms of highs and lows”. Kolwaite goes on to explain this particular downturn was so severe because it coincided with a worldwide recession. While that may be true, I think it is only part of the story (For more background discussion see: http://www.recygal.com/?p=684#more-684)

Up until the fall of 2008, strong Asian demand for reclaimed materials left MRFs scrambling to export more and more recyclables. Taking their “eyes” off local markets, shipment of scrap papers, scrap metals, and scrap plastics flowed to faraway places. Overcome by the lure of moola from Asia, investment and development in less “hot” opportunities came to a standstill. In many cases, development of more sustainable, closer to home opportunities were either totally ignored or put on the put on the back burner. Just when the “hot” strategy seemed to be paying off, Asia dried up!

As Asia wilted, reclaimed material prices melted: aluminum dropped by about 50%, scrap plastic fell by 20% (www.plasticsmarket.net), scrap glass by 58% (see:www.glassgo.net), scrap paper fell by 44% (www.paperfiber.net ) and recovered papers such as newsprint fell as much as 70%! The rapid price deflation not only lowered recycling’s profitability; it questioned its feasibility. Everything from aluminum cans to plastic soda bottles were in the fray. Needless to say, with the value for recyclables in the garbage, some of our recyclables went to landfills. What a shame!

The market value for many recovered materials declined for 6 months, then in summer 2009 prices started to move up. As of 4th quarter 2009, prices for scrap plastic have actually reached or surpassed previous high levels. The big question is, “How volatile are these prices?” If there are any economists out there, I would really appreciate your thoughts!

During the whole mess, the decline in composite plastic value (an average index taken across all reclaimed plastics) lagged far behind that of metal (www.metalpricing.com) and paper. Although Asia’s pull out hurt PET (#1) bales (prices sunk another 40% to 60%), the across the board value for reclaimed plastics was not so drastically effected. To give you an idea how Asian demand drove the post consumer PET (#1) bottle market, we must take a look at the past decade. From 1998 to 2008, the total market increased by over 80% to reach 1,549 MM lbs. While U.S. reclaimer purchases declined by 6% (757 MM lbs to 713 MM lbs), the explosive export market grew by over 800% (89 MM lbs to 836 MM lbs). Half of this explosion occurred within the past three years! Overheated Asia pushed market growth as the captive PET (#1) market base remained relatively unchanged.

Plastic recycling (as we know it today) began with the PET (#1) bottle which was patented in 1973. Soon after its introduction, PET (#1) bottles began replacing glass bottles for many beverages. Although PET (#1) recycling began in 1977, it took “years” before most facilities began to accept this plastic for recycling. The breakthrough came in 1991, when Coca Cola^© introduced the first recycled PET (#1) bottle. Recycling of PET (#1) bottles has grown from 8 MM pounds in 1979 to an estimated 2,410 MM pounds in 2009. (A 300 fold increase in 30 years!) With volumes of this magnitude, PET (#1) is the most recycled consumer plastic. With a large, captive beverage market, reclaimers that specialize solely in PET (#1) weathered the recent storm better than those reclaimers focusing on more volatile materials like paper.

Because reclaimers often handle several commodities, including PET (#1), many of these “mixed” facilities were snagged by the lure of Asia. Focusing on fast, lucrative export sales, attention was taken away from building more sustainable business models closer to home. As the Asian market for reclaimed materials dried up, export focused firms were not positioned to tap other outlets for their recyclables. Many found themselves dumb struck or scrambling for new ways to justify their existence.

The recent upswing in reclaimed materials pricing, points to MRF recovery. As MRFs begin to operate more smoothly again, plastic reclamation should play a larger role. According to the “2008 Report on Postconsumer PET Container Recycling Activity” ¹, the total pounds of PET bottles and jars available in the U.S. for recycling were 5.366 billion. The amount of postconsumer PET bottles collected for recycling and sold in the U.S. was 1.415 billion pounds. The resultant Gross Recycling Rate was 27%. Honestly, wouldn’t you think it would be higher? While many professionals in the plastics industry are ecstatic with this recycling rate (the highest in the past 10 years), it still falls short of the 1996 rate of 31.7%. With 27% reclaimed, there is still 73% not accounted for and likely ending up in landfills. Let’s get more PET bottles collected and recycled!

The second most reclaimed plastic is HDPE (#2) – with a recycle rate of 29%, 71% remains as garbage. Over the past decade, usage of PP (#5) for food containers has continually increased. However, with a recycle rate of only 11.4%, there are lots of yogurt containers and bottle caps “missing in action”. Despite the low recycle rate, the trend for PP (#5) recycling is actually on the upswing. New brand initiatives should help to increase recycling awareness of PP (#5) and improve the overall recycle rate.

Preserve Gimme 5 Bin

Launched this past January, “Preserve Gimme 5”, is a noteworthy program. For more than a decade, the company Recycline has been marketing tooth brushes made from post consumer plastic under the Preserve brand. Preserve Gimme 5 is a partnership formed by the Preserve brand team, Stonyfield Farm, Organic Valley and Whole Foods. Consumers who purchase items packaged in PP (#5) like yogurt, cottage cheese, hummus, sour cream, etc. can return the used containers to a designated recycling station inside their local Whole Foods store. The program is expected to keep one million pounds of PP (#5) out of landfills this year.

Another PP (#5) recycling program, “Recycle Caps with Aveda”, collects plastic bottle caps to melt and convert into post consumer recycled bottle caps. Depending on the type of cap, the post consumer plastic content can be as high as 25 – 100%. PP (#5) caps are found everywhere (beverage bottles, shampoo bottles, peanut butter jars, laundry detergent, etc., etc.). Unfortunately, millions upon millions of these caps are not recycled. Millions end up in landfills where they sit undisturbed for centuries; millions more find their way into drainage systems polluting waterways and physically choking marine life.

No one has captured the disastrous effects that floating bottle caps can have on marine life better than the photographer, Chris Jordan. Please visit his incredible website, www.chrisjordan.com, and see his new video which vividly shows the effects of plastic litter on avian life in the Pacific Ocean.

Dead Albatross with stomach full of bottle caps

After viewing Chris’s video, I am sure you will never want to “Not Recycle” another plastic bottle cap. Save them up and give them to Aveda. Aveda offers collection stations at its 150 U.S. stores and works with designated schools and independent salons to act as drop-off points for collected caps.

Aveda Cap Collection at University

Many colleges and universities participate in the program too; these organizations simply mail in the caps to Aveda for reclamation. Started in April 2008, Aveda collected more than 50,000 lbs of bottles caps in its first 7 months of program operations.

What is interesting about these recycling initiatives is that they are spearheaded by consumer products companies, not municipalities or MRFs. The companies behind these initiatives not only care about the environment, they are filling a void in the marketplace for recovered plastic. It is time that more MRFs take a serious look at PP (#5) collection and recycling. Investment in the recycling of clean, food grade plastics such as PVC (#3) or LDPE (#4) or PS (#6) would also make the industry less vulnerable to market swings and keep more plastics out of our landfills and waterways. The global market shake up of 2008 shows that recycling should be approached from a broad perspective. The days of narrow focus on “What’s hot”, need to end. By supporting efforts like Preserve Gimme 5 or Recycle Caps with Aveda we help to sustain worthy recycling programs. With continued corporate efforts, perhaps our municipalities will take notice and begin recycling these materials too. I sure hope my municipality does. In the meantime, I will be dropping of PP (#5) containers at my local Whole Foods store and plastic bottles caps at the closest Aveda pick up station. Does your city or municipality offer curbside pickup for any of the above plastics? Please let me know. This is a topic which demands further attention.

© 2009 Recycle Life, LLC
The RecyGal^TM and the RecyGal character, logo are trademarks of Recycle Life , LLC

References for this article were obtained from:
¹“2008 United States National Postconsumer Plastics Bottle Recycling Report”, American Chemistry Council and Association of Postconsumer Plastic Recyclers, 2009 “Report on Post-Consumer Pet Container Recycling Activity”, National Association for PET Container Resources, 2009, “2007 United States National Post-Consumer Report on Non-Bottle Rigid Plastics Recycling”, American Chemistry Council, 2009, “Recycling Takes Hit As Needs Fall Back”, The Gazette, April 12, 2009, “Sagging Economy Trashes Demand for Recyclables”, Albany Times Union, December 26, 2008, “History of Recycling”, California Environmental Protection Agency Integrated Waste Management Board, California Department of Conservation, 1997, “Overview of the Recovered Paper Market, Moore & Associates, March 2009, “Is Export Important?”, Waste Age, July 2009, “U.S. Aluminum Can Recycling Reached 54.2 Percent in 2008.”, Business Wire, August 12, 2009, “Plastic Packaging”, www.ballcorporate.com, 2009, “Reduce, recover, reuse: preserve CEO Eric Hudson shares his vision to make stylish, eco-friendly products–and preserve resources and encourage recycling at the same time”, Brand Packaging, May 1, 2009, “Preserve Gimme 5 Program Offers Recyclers With Polypropylene #5 Plastics Convenient Recycling Option”, Food Business Week, February 12, 2009, “Aveda creates system to recycle bottle caps”, Plastics News, December 8, 2008, “Recycle Caps with Aveda”, aveda.com