Page 20 - Food & Drink Magazine April 2019

COVER STORY
✷ RECYCLING INSIGHTS
Tetra Pak Oceania MD, Andrew Pooch, answers questions on recycling.
RENEWABLE AND RECYCLABLE
Laufer says it was important for JUST Goods to find a packaging supplier with the infrastructure to support recycling and a full life cycle approach to stewardship of the pack. Tetra Pak fitted the bill in the US and UK, and now in Australia.
On the pack’s recyclability, Pooch says Tetra Pak cartons are fully recyclable and are increasingly being recycled in Australia.
While Australia has high access to recycling options (for example, kerbside and state-mandated deposit-refund schemes) , China’s National Sword policy , which slashed its waste and recycling imports, has had a massive impact on the recycling sector. Pooch says there is an oversupply of mixed paper bales in the market and sorted bales have increasingly limited export channels.
“With the limited waste export channels and global over supply of recyclables, there is an urgent need to have more efficient collection systems and an onshore recycling facility,” he says.
“Tetra Pak has a number of proactive projects in place in Oceania to promote and increase recycling and, importantly, to develop an end-use market for the recycled material. In fact, in New Zealand, we are very close to announcing a project that will offer a fully circular solution.”
PACKED WITH PURPOSE
“We want to become the most prominent and recognised sustainable water in Australia by offering people an alternative to the default plastic packaging,” Laufer says. “We’ve been impressed by how receptive the market has been, and
the support on the ground from Tetra Pak and Slades.”
Pooch says the company has found in co-packer Slades Beverages not only a nimble business partner prepared to take a chance on a new venture, but one that has embraced sustainability across every facet of its business, from energy use to waste management, and to the type of packaging machinery it invests in.
Despite excitement around the product and projected volumes that could potentially exceed supply, Laufer says he is not expecting overnight success in Australia. “There’s still a lot of consumer education needed around the fact that this is not just another bottled water. We’re getting support from the retailers, and we’ll be getting behind an education drive ourselves.”
“Whichever way you look at it, mindset and behaviour change is what we need when it comes to plastic pollution. JUST is positioned as an incremental change product,” Laufer says, adding that there are other carton-based water packages available in the US.
“We welcome eco-friendly competition, it drives awareness of the need for change, and grows the category,” Laufer says.
“What has worked for us is developing strategic partnerships with retailers who understand the philosophy of our business – this has seen us double our business last year and we’re looking at tripling it this year.
“Expanding into Australia is a key step in our global mission to give people access to a truly ethical water brand which will play a role in reducing the amount of plastic in the world’s oceans,” Laufer concludes. ✷
1 WHAT IS THE CURRENT STATE OF RECYCLING
AFFAIRS IN AUSTRALIA?
Australia has high access to recycling. More than 90 per cent of households can recycle cartons through kerbside recycling. Cartons are included into mixed paper bales before being sent for recycling.
Cartons are also recyclable under container deposit schemes (CDS) where they are sorted into a separate stream.
Deposit-refund systems to manage single-use containers (including beverage cartons) are mandated in five states (SA, NT, NSW, QLD, ACT). WA is expected to follow suit in early 2020. VIC and TAS currently have no CDS.
Carton recycling is at its best when sorted (into its own stream) and sent to dedicated carton recycling facilities.
2
Our Tetra Pak cartons do not have any wax or waxy coating.
Australian kerbside recycling sees used cartons delivered to a material recovery facility (MRFs) where they are sorted into mixed paper bales (i.e. mixed with other types of paper). These bales are then packed together and sent to
paper mills, either local
or international, for
recycling.
At the paper mill, cartons are added to a large machine called a Hydrapulper – essentially a giant blender – that uses water to break the cartons down into two component parts. The paper pulp is used to
make a variety of products, such as paper towels, tissue, and paper bags.
We are unable to confirm what happens to all the plastic and aluminium at paper mills, however, mills often use these byproducts as energy to fuel their operations.
For beverage cartons collected under CDS, they are sorted into their own stream and sold to our recycling partners in the APAC region. The paper is first extracted to be made into a variety of paper products.
The plastic and aluminium (polyAl) is sent for further recycling (usually at the same site), and can be turned into roofing tiles and/or building materials.
3
ARE TETRA PAK
There is an oversupply of mixed paper bales with no real value in the market, while sorted bales have increasingly limited export channels.
With the limited waste export channels and global oversupply of recyclables, the urgency to have more efficient collection systems and onshore recycling facilities is greater than ever before.
This has impacted the whole value chain from recyclers to brand owners and manufacturers, government, local councils and consumers, with a strong call to find a sustainable solution.
CARTONS RECYCLABLE? WHERE DOES IT HAPPEN AND WHAT DO THEY BECOME? Tetra Pak cartons are fully recyclable. The average make-up of Tetra Pak aseptic cartons is 75 per cent paper; 20 per cent polyethylene; 5 per cent aluminium, which can all be recycled.
WHAT HAS CHANGED
SINCE THE CHINA BAN?
20 | Food&Drink business | April 2019 | www.foodanddrinkbusiness.com.au