Tetrapak and separate waste collection : it wasn’t love at first sight, due to the triple composition of the first, but today it seems to be doing well. Launched on the market by the Swedish company of the same name for the transport and storage of milk, Tetrapak containers have then proven useful and very practical for packaging many other liquid products.
Once emptied, however, the enigma often arose: where do I throw this away? For those who do separate waste collection , it was a problem and the less tenacious risked giving up on giving a second life to this material. Tetrapak containers are a happy trio of materials that individually have different destinations in separate waste collection : there is a layer of paper that is covered externally with plastic material and internally with aluminum.
Justified doubts, therefore, those of the undecided garbage sorter. Doubts that must be erased, because if we consider that only in Italy in the distant and less “consumptive” 2003, over 5 billion packages intended for food preservation were used, it is clear that the separate collection of Tetrapak is an important step.
Tetrapak: composition
Tetrapak containers are used for the preservation of both fresh foods, which therefore require refrigeration, and long-life foods. For the former, which must be kept refrigerated, Tetrapak containers are made of paper and polyethylene, but those for the preservation of long-life products are made of a polylaminate made of paper (74%), polyethylene (21%) and aluminum (5%).
The paper serves to provide strength and rigidity, the polyethylene retains liquids and “defends” against microorganisms, while the aluminum protects once and for all against air, light and bacteria, enemies of the contents that could come out damaged by their attack.
Tetrapak paper is made using wood and cellulose from forests managed according to environmental sustainability criteria, the green chain on paper continues with hot processes that do not require the use of chemical glues for the packaging of the final containers.
The paper is then combined with an aluminum foil and a thin layer of polyethylene , also waterproof, and everything is ready to receive the products, preserve them and keep them during transport and distribution to our homes. Separate collection is the next stage of their journey.
Tetrapak: separate waste collection
Once you have finished consuming the product contained in the Tetrapak , you need to throw it in the right place so that the mechanical separation of the parts that compose it occurs. There are specific centers that do this, then the paper is recycled as paper, while polyethylene/aluminum goes into the plastic regeneration cycle. From it you get fruit paper and ecoallene .
Cartafrutta is a paper widely used for the production of shopping bags and stationery while ecoallene will be used in construction, promotional and costume jewelry. It is a plastic material composed of polyethylene and a small percentage of aluminum and has the advantage of being printable.
The separate collection of Tetrapak has methods that can vary from Municipality to Municipality: some want it with paper, some with plastic, some elsewhere. To avoid guessing, it is better to rely on the very useful interactive map made available by the website TiRiciclo.it and looking for the Municipality where to throw it. Whether it is ours or where we are spending the holidays: separate collection does not take holidays.
Wherever we are and wherever we have to throw away Tetrapak , the containers of this material must first be rinsed and crushed so that there is no food residue. Furthermore, if the separate waste collection regulation requires it in the paper, it is advisable to remove the cap and the various plastic parts that are eventually attached to the “pure” tetrapak and are destined for the appropriate waste bin.
Tetrapak: differentiated Milan
Since January 2010, Milan, together with some municipalities in the hinterland, has been recycling this material thanks to Comieco (National Consortium for the Recovery and Recycling of Cellulose-Based Packaging), Tetrapak and Amsa . This city has chosen the paper route for containers of this Swedish material, so Tetrapak cartons end up in the white bin together with newspapers and magazines, various cardboard packages for food or various objects and pizza boxes. Amsa provides the toll-free number 800332299 to ask for clarification in case of doubts.
Tetrapak: differentiated Rome
The capital is also committed to the separate collection of Tetrapak and always with paper it wants it, together with paper, cardboard and cardboard (boxes, envelopes, etc.), sheets, newspapers, magazines, non-plasticized notebooks, brochures, flyers, non-plasticized posters. There are special bins and the Tetrapak together with the other companions of separate collection must be thrown there to then become paper and other things.
