Food and Drink Cartons
Food and drink cartons in the form of tetrapak material, such as milk, juice and soup cartons, are produced from a composite of paperboard, low density polyethylene, wax, and aluminium foil. Their complex make-up means they are a challenge to recycle, as it is not possible to place them with any other material, for example cardboard, because the end product would be contaminated.
In order for recycling to be beneficial, a large enough market needs to exist for the cartons as raw material, without them needing to be transported over long distances. As cartons are very light, only small weights are recycled from large quantities.
The high quality fibres used in making the paper is highly desirable to reprocessors if they have suitable technology to separate the paper, plastic and foil.
Cartons can be re-used for other purposes, such as containers. For example, their lining makes them strong enough to be used for plant pots, if filled with earth, or other containers.
Our recycling / disposal advice
'Tetrapak' drink cartons represent less than 1% of household waste, yet collectively they are bulky. Therefore, to reduce the amount of space they take up in your waste stream, cartons should be squashed flat.
Cartons can now be recycled in certain parts of Hertfordshire, including several different Household Waste Recycling Centres. Check the postcode search for your nearest recycling point.
Use the search below to find where to recycle / dispose of Food and Drink Cartons.