Tetra Pak has announced that it has made new advancements in the area of recycled content, expanding its offering of packaging solutions using certified recycled polymers to cover new formats, product categories and geographies. 

The expansion is a key milestone in the company’s journey towards a circular portfolio, turning waste into new resources, and reducing the industry’s dependence on virgin, fossil-based materials, the statement said.  As the industry looks for ways to support the EU Green Deal's goals on climate, circularity and resilient food systems, beverage cartons with certified recycled polymers are now on supermarket shelves around Europe:

Emmi, Switzerland’s market leader in dairy, recently introduced the world’s first carton using certified recycled polymers in the packaging material. Its good day Milk Drink, packaged in Tetra Top® 1000 Base carton packages, has been on shelf since late 2022 and reflects Emmi's ambitious aims towards circularity, including the usage of at least 30 per cent recycled materials in all its packaging by 2027. 

In February 2023, Lactalis Group, a world leading dairy player, revamped its organic ambient liquid cream in Tetra Brik Aseptic cartons under its Bridélice and Président brands with certified recycled polymers in the packaging material – a first in France. The development supports Lactalis Group’s efforts to foster innovative solutions towards a more circular packaging economy.

These collaborations add to a successful industry first with Elvir, a subsidiary of Savencia Fromage & Dairy. For its Elle & Vire brand, the company introduced a cap for beverage cartons, using certified recycled polymers, in 2022.

Niels Hougaard Managing Director, Tetra Pak Arabia Area, said, “At Tetra Pak, we are committed to implement our global strategies and plans in the region, we strongly believe in the importance of private public partnership and collaboration, which will help achieve sustainability targets sooner than expected. 

Today, the high share of renewable materials in Tetra Pak carton packages helps them feature landa lower carbon footprint than many other packaging options. In 2021, by accelerating the deployment of our plant-based portfolio, we saved 96 kilo tonnes of CO₂ globally, compared to fossil-based plastic. This is equivalent to CO2 emissions from over 40 million litres of gasoline consumed. But we want to go further, continuously reducing reliance on virgin, fossil-based sources and re-enter materials into the economy, and we are delighted to do so together with our customers.”