With the opening of the new recycling hub for beverage cartons at Stora Enso’s production site at Ostrołęka, in Poland, that country’s annual recycling capacity for these containers is set to triple – from 25,000 to 75,000 tonnes according to a statement issued today.
Stora Enso, together with Tetra Pak, has invested some €29 in the installation of a new recycling line for post-consumer beverage cartons able to recycle the entire volume of beverage cartons sold in Poland, with additional volumes from Central and Eastern Europe, including the neighbouring countries of Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania.
Stora Enso has invested approximately €17 million into a new repulping line that will recover the carton fibers, and Tetra Pak – along with Czech carton recycling expert Plastigram Industries – have invested the €12 million required to build the new line.
The line operated by Stora Enso in Ostrołęka has an annual capacity of 50,000 tonnes and solely handles beverage carton material separation, detaching fibres from polymers and aluminium. The fibres are then recycled into carton board materials. Plastigram, together with Tetra Pak, are complementing this with a more sustainable end-of-life solution for polyAl – the polyethylene and aluminum remaining after the fibres have been removed that serves as a barrier against oxygen and humidity in aseptic carton packages and usually ends up being incinerated or landfilled.
“For decades, we have been working to enhance beverage carton recycling capacity, co-investing with recyclers, technology providers and suppliers in new equipment and facilities” said Lars Holmquist, EVP Sustainability & Communications at Tetra Pak.
“As part of the Alliance for Beverage Cartons and the Environment (ACE), we support the industry ambition to increase the collection for recycling rate of beverage cartons to 90% and the recycling rate to 70%, in the EU, by 2030. I am very pleased to see that our collaboration with Stora Enso translates into one of the largest recycling hubs for beverage cartons in Europe, contributing to this ambition.”
Installation of the new line is one of the clearest indications yet of the beverage carton industry’s willingness to support the circularity goals of the proposed EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation. The packaging industry has already invested approximately€200 million to increase the capacity for beverage carton recycling in the EU and plans to invest a further €120 million by 2027.
“This new modern solution marks a significant addition to European recycling capacity and a concrete step forward in the circularity of consumer packaging. In addition to complementing the current scope of our production site in Poland, the recycling facility will significantly contribute towards the recycling and waste reduction goals of the EU’s proposal for a Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation,” noted Hannu Kasurinen, EVP Packaging Materials at Stora Enso.
