Do not go gentle into that good night, old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light, though wise men at their end know dark is right, because their words had forked no lightning they, do not go gentle into that good night.
Tetra Pak raises awareness about recyclable materials
People visit Tetra Pak's booth during Orchid Light Festival at Seoul Energy Dream Center in Mapo District, Seoul, May 5. Courtesy of Tetra Pak
By Jhoo Dong-chan
Tetra Pak has been stepping up activities to raise awareness about aseptic carton recycling.
Despite being fully recyclable, aseptic packaging is often treated as regular paper waste primarily due to low awareness among consumers and insufficient collection and recycling infrastructure in Korea.
The Swedish multinational food packaging firm said it is doing its best to build aseptic carton recycling infrastructure and raise public awareness jointly with the government and local food firms.
“We prioritize environmental contribution throughout the entire product life cycle of our aseptic cartons, for the course of production, transportation, storage and recycling,” said Tetra Pak Korea President Alejandro Cabal.
To raise awareness about aseptic carton recycling, Tetra Pak established “The Korea Aseptic Carton Recycling Association (KACRA)” with other domestic aseptic carton producers and recycling companies.
Under its goal to achieve a 70-percent recycling rate for aseptic cartons by 2030, the association is also engaged in various projects including introducing new recycling technologies to local firms.
Tetra Pak also joins hands with local governments and local bin makers in collecting aseptic cartons. They installed 50 collection bin units in Songpa and Gangnam districts along with Sejong City in 2018. These bins are designed especially to collect aseptic cartons.
The number has now reached 300 units in 20 cities nationwide, according to the company.
Products that use Tetra Pak's aseptic cartons / Courtesy of Tetra Pak
It has also partnered with major business players, such as SK geo centric, Maeil Dairies and Jushin International, to help strengthen the nation’s recycling infrastructure and promote products utilizing recycled materials.
Under the setup, Tetra Pak supports setting up screening and separation recycling facilities for aseptic cartons while Maeil Dairies develops and operates aseptic carton collection programs.
Jushin International recycles the paper obtained from used aseptic cartons and collects byproduct composite materials. SK geo centric gathers remaining materials to recycle them into plastic pallets for logistics and food and beverage crates.
Tetra Pak also hosts The Orchid Light Festival as an organizer and sponsor. The annual event serves as a platform for the company to share messages on sustainability and resource circulation while introducing methods of proper aseptic carton recycling.
“Tetra Pak will search further for ways to expand recycling and sorting capabilities with other shareholders,” said Cabal.
An aseptic carton is a food package solution often used for containing nutritional products that have a short shelf life or those that require high thermal conductivity to maintain freshness. The solution is used for a wide range of food products including protein drinks, milk alternatives, ice cream and water.