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Just found a link for recycling tetra pak whilst researching an article. It is a PDF file of labels to use when posting tetra pak to be recycled.

http://www.drinkscartons.com/pdf/labels.pdf

It UK only, I guess there are other ones in other countries too.

Yep, send them all to Scotland... Doesn't the council recycle them down south?

Ina

Yep, I have just saved up a skipful to send to you personally to put out in your recycling bin Ina!

Thanks a lot, that's what I've always wanted...

But that was a serious question - because I think it's strange that a recycling company in Scotland should be asking for stuff to be sent from England. Mind you, I've always wondered how they get the stuff that makes up Tetra pak separated.

Ina

Hi i know a woman in the west of ireland , who soaks news papers
first she rips the paper up and then soaks and stuffs it into the tetra pack
and leaves it to dry totally out and put them in the stove and uses them for fueling the stove. great way for recycling paper and tetra packs.
jessica

Sounds like a good plan Jessica!!

I spotted a log maker the other day in a catalogue that was made using dry paper/junk mail/twigs/cardboard/wood chippings/dry leaves etc in a tube type contraption - when we moved in we inherited about 20 whisky tubes that I thought we could use - depends what they are made of I suppose.

G'DAy All,

The idea of the lady in Ireland is OK so long as the smoke cannot come into contact with the food. The organic chemicals and aluminium oxide released by the burning process may not do you a lot of good!

Nev

What will they do to the air we breathe?

Ina

Not much good at all, but the small amount she would burn would be far more nasty in direct contact with the food, for her personally. Obviously it would be better to recycle rather than burn

Nev

And if it's an enclosed wood burner it won't be good for that either.

What is Tetrapak exactly? Is it those cartons that are shiny cardboard on the outside and lined with silver stuff inside? What is the problem with recycling them? We can here in France.

G'DAy M3,

Yeah, that's them. The problem is usually trying to separate the thin aluminium layer from the plastic layer from the paper layer. It requires a certain type of technology to do it. Yes we can recycle them too!

Nev

Is it a dumb question then, to ask why they make them in the first place? I think I need to go and have a look at stuff in my fridge, I wonder if my apple juice has aluminium on the inside of the carton. I'm trying to think what kind of stuff is packaged in these packs and if I actually have seen them in France. Just wondering out loud now!

I always wish that fruitjuices etc were available at a reasonable price in glass bottles - preferably returnable ones - but only the luxury stuff comes in glass. Buying juice concentrate (in bottles) and watering it down myself is an option; but so far I've only seen apple and pear concentrate here. Does anybody know if there's orange or grapefruit around as well? That would save quite a bit of waste!

Ina

The stuff packed in tetrapak tends to last for quite a long time, and I suppose that is what consumers and producers want!

Nev

I guess it's more the producers - the consumers rarely buy the stuff to keep it in their cuboards for several years. It does make it easier for the wholesale and retail division, if they don't have to check sell-by dates alll the time...

Ina