tetra pak petition your council

Wig

this site
http://www.innocentdrinks.co.uk/recycle

Has this letter for you to send to your council - I've edited it a bit.

<insert your address>




<insert the date>




Attention: <insert your council name>



Please start recycling Tetra Pak cartons



Hello

I’m writing to ask you to start recycling Tetra Pak cartons. Other councils are providing this service, but for some reason, you are not.

Tetra Pak cartons are a very common way of packaging food and drink, so there are a lot of these cartons about. I’ve checked with Tetra Pak themselves – they say that their cartons are recyclable and they say that there is a facility in Fife where this is put into practice.

Please see https://www.drinkscartons.com for more information on the recycling of Tetra Paks.

As it is possible and other councils are doing it, I was hoping that you could also start providing this service. Let me know what your plans are i.e. what steps are you currently taking to encourage a local economically viable facility to be set up. Or perhaps you are or will shortly be lobbying government for help in this area. I look forward to hearing from you.

Thank you
Kind regards


<insert your name>

twobob_2

Thanks just done it. Theres been a few complaints in my local paper that people cant recycle these things.

Have to wait & see now

MORPH3US

Thank god for this!!

I always thought it wasn't possible to recycle these. We buy UHT milk and also orange juice by the tonne in these and its such a waste to bin them.

My letter is in the post as we speak!!

M

Geordiebird_3

Ooh, great plan!

Also, in the meantime - while the councils are getting their green act together... you can use rinshed and squashed tetra packs as barbeque or fire lighters.

I know it might not be THE BEST idea because of burning fumes, but they must be better than petrol-soaked firelighters?? Handy for us folk who don't have gas, but coal central heating too!

GB x

sundin13

Over in Canada there's a great debate going on about tetra paks which is worth reading.

The LCBO, (government owned place you buy wines) are encouraging wine makers to use tetra paks for wine, because they say it's more environmentally friendly than using bottles. This claim is contested by environmentalists, who say that that's a pile of **** as tetra pak recycling is vastly overstated, because of the way the tetra pak is made up of really thin layers (aluminium, paper and plastic apparently) which can't be separated for recycling easily.

The Beer Store (which is the place you buy....well, guess) already has one of ]the most successful recycling programmes in the world, because they have a deposit/return system. The LCBO have somehow managed to avoid having a similar system for years - instead preferring to leave responsibility for recycling to consumers.

What do you think...should this country do more to make retailers and manufacturers take responsibility for the waste they create, or is it just down to the consumers...and if so, do we not have a need for a massive education programme.

GuidonTheBee

I'd heard that there was only 1 plant that could process tetra paks in the Uk & you used to be able to post them to it but that it had stopped taking them a few months ago. This may just be a figment of my tortured mind, but does anyone know if this is true or not ?

MORPH3US

sundin13 wrote:

What do you think...should this country do more to make retailers and manufacturers take responsibility for the waste they create, or is it just down to the consumers...and if so, do we not have a need for a massive education programme.

Well considering the Reduce, Reuse and Recycle phrase that pays, reducing the packaging is the first and most important part of "doing your bit".

Whilst consumers can "reduce" the packaging, the bulk of the reducing needs to be done by manufacturers who wrap their easter eggs in foil AND plastic AND cardboard etc etc!

So yes I do think manufacturers should take more responsability!

M

wishingonastar_3

i've sent mine off. we get through loads of these buying uht milk, and i hate to see them go in the bin.

C_Ronaldo

the consumers can only do so much, we could do more if the manufacturers need to do more

wishingonastar_3

MORPH3US wrote:

Well considering the Reduce, Reuse and Recycle phrase that pays, reducing the packaging is the first and most important part of "doing your bit".

Whilst consumers can "reduce" the packaging, the bulk of the reducing needs to be done by manufacturers who wrap their easter eggs in foil AND plastic AND cardboard etc etc!

So yes I do think manufacturers should take more responsability!

M

well said. i've been amazed at how much packaging thats unecessary on products in supermarkets, even in other things too, bought 2 polo shirts for dd to go back to school, sealed in plastic bag type thing, with card and tissue paper inside them. whats the point of that?

gromituk

Wig wrote:

there is a facility in Fife where this is put into practice.

Hmm - and how much energy is used bussing all the used Tetra-paks up to Fife to be recycled?