ACE UK has signed an agreement with Sonoco Alcore to establish beverage carton reprocessing facility in UK

Jun 25, 2012. /Lesprom Network/. The Alliance for Beverage Cartons & the Environment (ACE) UK has signed an agreement with paper and packaging producer, Sonoco Alcore, to establish the UK’s only beverage carton reprocessing facility at its UK plant near Halifax, West Yorkshire, as ACE UK said in the press release received by Lesprom Network. The plant will be operational from 2013 and capable of recycling 25,000 tonnes of cartons sorted from household and commercial waste streams by local authorities and their waste management contractors. Richard Hands, Chief Executive of ACE UK, comments: “This decision underlines the firm commitment of our members - Tetra Pak, SIG Combibloc and Elopak - to constantly improve the environmental performance of their beverage cartons. The already low carbon footprint will become even lower, valuable materials will go back into the UK economy and local authorities can meet the expectations of many householders that their waste should be reprocessed in this country. We are confident that by the end of Year 1 (December 2013) a further ten local authorities will have started collecting cartons in their kerbside service, sending them to the new mill for recycling by ACE UK and Sonoco Alcore.” The high-quality wood fibres found in beverage cartons are flexible and strong, and can be recycled making them a valuable raw material for new paperboard products. The Sonoco Alcore plant will recycle the reprocessed paperboard layers into consumer and industrial products, such as the tubes for cling film and the cores for rolls of textiles. Adam Wood, Vice President Industrial Converting, Sonoco Alcore, Europe comments: “Our company has a long history of recycling and reuse, and this opportunity with ACE UK strengthens our focus on sustainability. This partnership provides us with the fibre we need to produce our engineered tubes and cores, and we are looking forward to receiving a growing stream of cartons”.