They represent one of the mysteries of separate collection: they are polylaminate packaging. Where are Tetra Pak containers thrown away?
They represent one of the mysteries of collection: are the packaging in polylaminate. Where are Tetra Pak containers thrown away? How are they born? How are they recycled? Let's try today to resolve some doubts about the food packaging usually used to contain drinks such as milk and fruit juices, but also liquid foods such as creams, broth and vegetable purees that can be purchased ready-made and present in practically any supermarket in our country.
I containers in Tetra Pak were launched on the market by the Swedish company of the same name as necessary packaging for transport and storage of milk and were later used to package other liquid products. They are composed of a layer of paper clad externally from plastic material and internally from aluminum. Their triple composition can only leave doubts as to what their correct destination is within the waste cycle, so much so as to push many to wondering if Tetra Pak packages should be thrown together with paper, together with plastic or elsewhere.
Index
How they are made
La paper used for the manufacture of Tetrapak packages is made using wood and cellulose from foreste managed according to environmental sustainability criteria. The paper parts of the packages undergo hot processing, without the use of chemical adhesives, which allow them to be joined to a aluminum foil and to a thin polyethylene layer, necessary to guarantee the impermeability of the container. The containers are sent without intermediate steps to the customer in a single transport solution.
They are then used for the packaging and transport of food, spend a certain period between the shelves of the supermarket and finally arrive in our homes. After using their content, Tetra Pak containers are thrown away (unless you decide to use them to create creative recycling projects) and, at this point, if correctly sent to the appropriate collection centers, they will be used for the creation of new materials.
The Recycling
I containers in Tetra Pak, inside special structures, are sent to the mechanical separation of the parts that compose them. There paper will be recycled while the polyethylene / aluminum parts will come intended for plastic regeneration plants. Two new materials will be born from the processes necessary for the recovery of Tetra Pak:
1) to FRUIT POTATOES, deriving from the recycling of containers from separate collection, is a brown paper particularly suitable for the production of shopping bags and stationery.
2) The ECOALLENE, composed of polyethylene and a small percentage of aluminum, is a plastic and printable material, used in construction, promotional and costume jewelery.
Where to throw them?
How to collect the Tetra Pak vary from municipality to municipality. In some cities they are collected together with paper, in others together with plastic, provided that the separate collection of this material is active within them. It is possible to find out if in your Municipality the separate collection of Tetra Pak is carried out and in which bin to deliver this material by consulting the specific interactive map made available by the TiRiciclo.com website. To facilitate the recycling of containers, they must be rinsed and crushed before being thrown away, so that no food residues remain inside them.
In the event that the collection of the Tetra Pak is carried out together with that of the card, it is advisable, but not mandatory, separate the cap from the packaging ed other plastic parts, which should therefore be destined for the appropriate waste bag or bin. This is specified as when the Tetra Pak is collected together with the paper it can be given directly to paper mills, where the paper part will be used for the production of new paper. In case of doubts about the local collection methods, it is advisable to contact theMunicipal Office competent of their place of residence.
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Life, death and miracles of the containers in Tetra Pack
