Monday, October 01, 2007

Tetrapak Challenge

Ever since Benjymous mentioned tetrapak recycling in a comment a few weeks ago, I knew it would make a great Bean Sprouts challenge. I put quite a lot of tetrapaks in my black landfill bin, and I never knew there was a better alternative.

Tetrapak have a website all about recycling their packaging in the UK. It's a deeply irritating website with lots of stupid videos and animated text you can't avoid but have to wait for every time you load a new page. They really should stop doing that. But it does have some neat features. I waded my way through it so you don't have to.

The interactive map is useful, for example. You can click on your area and find out what kind of tetrapak recycling is available to you, whether they're kerbside collections (sadly rare) or recycling banks. It also gives you the location of your nearest carton recycling bank. Some areas are labelled as having no local recycling, but don't despair.

If your local council doesn't offer any tetrapak recycling facilities, you can post cartons back to the manufacturer for recycling. You can even print out postage labels, but you'll have to pay the postage as it isn't freepost.

You can recycle all kids of tetrapak cartons - milk, juice, soup, smoothies, custard etc. You should rinse them out before recycling, whether you're posting them or dropping them off at a bank. It's probably easier to rinse then if you cut the top open, rather than trying to get water in and out of a narrow plastic spout. When they're clean you should squash them flat, because they'll be easier to post that way, and you can fit more in the recycling bank before it needs emptying. You can snip off any plastic spout if it helps to flatten them, but it is not necessary as it will be removed as part of the recycling process. If you post them, you should put them in a cardboard box (an old cereal packet or something will be fine), not a jiffy bag, because the whole package can then be dropped into the recycling machine.

The website also has some fun ideas, like crafts using tetrapaks. You can download a leaflet with instructions for making a jointed panda puppet and a viking ship out of old juice cartons.

So, will you take the Tetrapak challenge and start recycling your cartons? I'm going to add a new recycling container to our household to store washed flattened tetrapaks, and take them to the recycling bank at the civic centre once a week. Whatever you decide, don't forget to vote in the poll in the right-hand sidebar.

12 comments:

Chile said...

We can recycle them here in the US but I'm trying to find more ways to re-use them instead. This site has some great ideas, especially the last one. Follow the link and don't worry about installing the language pack. What you want to see is the picture of how to make a great container for leftovers!

Right now I mostly use them for ice. I just rinse out slightly and fill the tetrapack (not cut up) with water 3/4 full. Screw the cap back on and freeze. These keep my freezer full and running more efficiently. Handy for the ice chest too.

Z said...

I agree with Chile - I prefer to reuse than recycle if possible. I hardly ever have any Tetrapaks in fact, as I squeeze juice, make soup and have milk delivered in bottles, but if I do I reuse them as containers.

Nik said...

I actualy rarely buy them, but when I do I reuse and keep them as seedling containers (with holes punched in the bottom) or for covers for the seedlings if a frost is threatening.

Anonymous said...

I onlynoticed 2 weeksago that my local Sainsburys recycles these, so I have a bag full in the kitchen, as the kids love fruit juice.

donna said...

This is great Mel, I'd approached my local council recently only to find out plymouth don't have any recycling facilities , but the interactive map you linked to shows there are facilities nearby in the south hams.Not eco friendly to make a special journey, but i go past there when i go to visit mum so could save them up and drop them off on the way.I shall put a link to your info on my blog.

Anonymous said...

I am very lucky in that my council collects tetrapaks in the blue recycling bin, which is collected fortnightly.

benjymous said...

Woo - thanks for linking :)

As Steph mentions, lots of supermarkets seem to be adding tetrapak recycling skips at their stores, so it's worth checking around.

Anonymous said...

Was at our local Teignbridge Council offices in Newton Abbot in Devon to pick up some extra compost bins for my school project(we're restoring the wildlife area)anyway I picked up a leaflet and discovered that now our local council is recycling tetra packs-not alas in our doorstep boxes but we can take them down town to a local car park recycling centre

Anonymous said...

I hadn't realised they were recyclable so that is news. Unfortunately no usefull place for us to recycle them :(

However, I don't think we get that many. Milk is in those plastic square bottles these days. I can't think of anything in a tetrapak that re regularly get.

Unknown said...

Thanks for the link - I've found a local recycling bin!

David said...

Is it really necessary to wash out when recycling? Better to save the water....

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