Local technology to boost recycling of milk cartons

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By Ma Zhenhuan (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-10-26 08:29

What do you usually do with the carton when you finish drinking the milk or beverage inside? Tossing it in the trash is a common option.

But those cartons can be retrieved and recycled, thanks to the commercialization of a locally developed technology.

The new technology is a polyethylene-aluminum separation solution supported by packaging giant Tetra Pak.

It's expected to significantly boost the recycling value chain for milk and beverage cartons in China.

The technology was developed by Shandong Tianyi Plastics Co in East China, one of the key carton recyclers in the country.

The company won the support of Sweden-based Tetra Pak, which has assisted in the installation and operation of China's first such separation and production line at Hangzhou Fulun Environmental Protection Tech Co in March.

The process, which separates raw materials in the waste cartons, increases the value of the recycled cartons by up to 30 percent.

Statistics from the China Packaging Federation show that China's gross output for the packaging sector reached 860 billion yuan ($125.96 billion) last year.

However, only 15 percent to 20 percent of the dumped cartons were collected and recycled, due to the lack of a nationwide recycling system and the low value obtained.

With rapid urbanization during the past two decades, the increase in cartons and other wastes have posed a tough challenge to the country's environmental protection sector.

Solid urban wastes can pollute air, water and soil, but recycling those wastes can prove a gold mine to those who know how to capitalize on the retrieved materials.

The National People's Congress has passed a law to promote the recycling industry to better protect the environment.

In China, post-consumption milk and beverage cartons mostly go through a hydro-pulping process to generate pulp for recycled paper.

But how to commercially realize a green and environmentally friendly collection and recycling process has long been a dilemma.

More profits

"China's packaging sector still lacks an effective resource utilization and recycling system," said Shi Wanpeng, chairman of the China Packaging Federation.

"Such techniques can greatly expand the use of recycled paper from the dumped cartons, raising the profitability of both the carton collectors and the recycling industry," Shi told a recent forum in Hangzhou on recycling.

Fulun, launched in 1994, has so far set up 47 collection sites in 15 provinces and autonomous regions across the country. The company last year collected 1 billion dumped cartons, and recycled them into 6,750 tons of paper and 2,250 tons of plastic.

As the nation's biggest recycler of dumped cartons, the 160-employee company, which has realized a sustainable business operation with profits for two consecutive years, is hoping to further expand its annual recycled capacity to 1.7 billion cartons this year.

The company's goal is to turn Fulun into the world's largest recycling production base for carton wastes within the next three years.

However, Zha Haibing, a Fulun assistant general manager, said more public awareness is needed to persuade people to buy recycled products.

"We found that many of our products such as recycled paper and pencils sell for much more in the United States and Europe, since people there prefer using recycled materials," Zha said. "People here still haven't formed such habits."

Zha said government incentives could promote the purchase of more recycled products in China.

Buyiing 'recycled'

"For example, we would like to see our products being included on the government's purchasing list. Such incentives would greatly help sales of our products," he said.

Yao Teke, a Tetra Pak China manager responsible for recycling products, said his company has long supported recycling efforts in the country.

"We understood it is a long-lasting process for China to realize a healthy industrialization chain for dumped wastes," Yao said.

"That's why we've been offering systematic support for the establishment and improvement of a recycling value chain for post-consumption milk and beverage cartons in China for the past 10 years," he said.

Yao said that his company has so far helped start 10 carton-recycling operations in China.

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