EU beverage carton recycling rate continues to grow

The Alliance for Beverage Cartons and the Environment has announced the latest figures on carton recycling in the EU.

The latest reports show that 44% of beverage cartons were recycled in 2015, continuing an unbroken, ten-year upward trend.

The figure is equivalent to approximately 400,000 tonnes, or over 16 billion used beverage cartons, recycled at more than 20 paper mills in Europe. The total recovery rate including recycling and energy recovery reached 74% for 2015.                                                            

Annick Carpentier director general of ACE said: “This difference in performance implies that recycling of milk or juice cartons used in homes across Europe can be increased further.

“We suggest that collecting all packaging separately, combined with a ban on landfilling packaging waste would significantly boost the circular economy.”