Recycling Tetrapak (merged)

Altarf

tiff wrote: »

I was reading here today that tetrapaks were the greener choice?

I think that you will find that their are many half-truths told by companies promoting the green credentials for their products. For example, the plastic bag companies claim that their product is more environmentally friendly than paper bags. As for Terapaks, the energy saving on glass bottles and cans quoted by that site - is that an end-to end energy cost, is it for new glass and new metal or for recycled glass and metal? Given that the website that you refered to had just taken its information from Tetrapak (http://www.tetrapakrecycling.co.uk/), it has not based its opinion on unbiased research.

Anyway, I just find something odd in the idea of shipping waste 1000 miles to be recycled.

spender

We are fortunate in that our local council have collection points in most of the town centres for these. Trouble is keeping them separate and stopping the kids just chucking them in the general recycling!

umami

My sister bought me a carrier bag made from recycled tetrapak.It is made in the Phillippines. It is very colourful and very useful and comes with a full explanation how it was made.

Altarf

chun wrote: »

My sister bought me a carrier bag made from recycled tetrapak.It is made in the Phillippines.

So the used Tetrapaks are shipped from the UK to Norway, then the recycled material is shipped to the Philippines, where it is made into bags, and then the finished bags are shipped back to the UK. And that is a good thing?

Poppycat

This is why I think some recycling is just madness. Okay we must do our bit yes. But why should some of the recycling got to some far off flung place just because it appears for now to be easier than building a plant to do this for us.

Dustykitten

I saw a sky program a while back that showed all our plastics for recycling being shipped to Asia for recycling. They use it as balst (sp) on the huge barges which are going back empty after all the goods have been brought here.

I think our Tesco wonder machine which you post your recycling in for points takes tetrapaks. There is always a massive queue to use the machine. I think local councils should issue us all with a card to use machines and give us a rebate off our tax for how much we recycle. I wonder what Tesco do with it all, do you think they sell it or is it just a scheme to get people to visit the carpark and thus the store?

Altarf

Do you honestly think that Tesco (or Sainsbury, Asda, etc) do anything without their aim being to increase profits.

geordie_joe

Poppycat wrote: »

This is why I think some recycling is just madness. Okay we must do our bit yes. But why should some of the recycling got to some far off flung place just because it appears for now to be easier than building a plant to do this for us.

Because there's a profit in it. The councils send it for recycling so they can meet the governments targets, the cost of doing it is imaterial. It is still cheaper, in the short term to send it overseas.

Recycling isn't about saving the planet, it's about conning the public.

Poppycat

Yes I no Geordie, it is about conning the public, its all about targets and shifting the problems on to some poor developing country

wishiwasarichgirl

never knew cartons weren't recycled, i always chuck them in my blue bin, so what happens to them? do they just chuck them in a skip at the recycling plant?