Global recycling rates for used Tetra Pak cartons increased by 10 per cent in 2012, packaging firm Tetra Pak announced today (20 March).

According to Tetra Pak’s Sustainability Report 2012, globally, around 3.6 billion more Tetra Pak packages were recycled in 2012 than in 2011, helping the company make progress towards its 2020 environmental targets.

Further, it was found that the top countries for recycling the cartons were Luxembourg and Belgium (with recycling rates of more than 80 per cent) followed by Germany, where recycling rates were above 70 per cent.

The findings also showed that China, Russia and Arabia, though ‘starting from a low base’, had ‘virtually doubled their recycling rates during the past three years’, with China seeing carton recycling increase from zero in 2002 to 15.6 per cent in 2011.

Environmental goals

The firm set itself environmental goals in 2011 focusing on three areas: recycling, sustainable products and environmental footprint.

The targets were as follows:

• recycling: double the global recycling rate for used beverage cartons by the end of the decade to 40 per cent;
• sustainable products: develop packaging based on 100 per cent renewable materials and increase the supply of Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified paper board available for use in Tetra Pak packages to 100 per cent, with an interim target to achieve 50 per cent in 2012;
• environmental footprint: cap climate impact across the value chain at 2010 levels by the end of 2020.

Despite global levels of Tetra Pak recycling rising by 10 per cent in one year, the company missed out on its 2012 sustainability target – seeing just 38 per cent (26.4 billion) of Tetra Pak’s made from FSC certified paperboard in that year.

However the company found that the number of Tetra Paks ‘with bio-based polymer caps derived from sugar cane’ grew to 610 million in 2012, up from 80 million in 2011.

In the final category, ‘environmental footprint’, the company reduced its carbon emissions by two kilo tonnes CO2 equivalent in 2012, despite a 9.5 per cent increase in production volumes in the same period.

Speaking of the progress report, Tetra Pak President and CEO Dennis Jönsson said: “We’re off to a good start, but there is still a lot to be done to achieve the 2020 targets that we set for ourselves in 2011.

“Strong environmental performance goes hand in hand with long-term business success, and we are working closely with our suppliers, customers and other external parties to ensure that we deliver on our environmental commitments, helping all of us to achieve our sustainable growth ambitions”, he added.

Detailed results will be included in the Sustainability Update to be released later this year.