Tetra Pak raises awareness on recycling processes

Environment Director for Tetra Pak Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines and Indonesia, Terrynz Tan said that within a decade, the beverage carton box manufacturer has recycled 30% of its products in Malaysia recovering the aluminium, paper and polyethylene in them.

The company has educated the recycling operators and paper mills in the country about products and their recycling process. The mills initially rejected the product because of the content of 20% polyethylene and 5% aluminium.

“Tetrak Pak contains 75% paper, 20% polyethylene and 5% aluminium. The paper mills in the past only knew of recycling newspaper and brown boxes comprising 100% fibre,” she said.

 “They just lacked information and awareness…We have our technical specialists who later taught the paper mills to use their existing machines to process these post-consumer products,” she added.

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The paper content of Tetra Pak can be recycled into items such as book covers and polyethylene is made into roofing board or flat panel board.

And for the aluminium in the packaging, it can be recovered and turned into pallets. Pallets can be used to manufacture different items like clothes hangers and stands with the same functionality as those made from plastic.