Drink Carton Recycling Campaign
In 2016, we launched a drink carton recycling campaign in Hong Kong, making us the first organisation to do so. Upon rolling the campaign out in schools, hotels, a theme park and the community in phases, we then introduced an innovative “Cash Reward” model, where drink cartons can re-enter existing recycling chains. This helped establish a holistic and sustainable recycling system in Hong Kong.
Drink cartons are made of paper, plastic and aluminium, all of which are recyclable. However, they were not being recycled due to the lack of technology, facilities and resources.
When the first carton recycling plant was built in 2019, the scale of recycling gradually grew, but the recycling rate remains very low. Around 23,000 tonnes of drink cartons are discarded each year in Hong Kong. They are wasted when dumped into landfills, and such dumping exacerbates land constraint issues and waste problems, and hinders the development of the local recycling industry.
Countries like Taipei, South Korea, Japan and Germany have different recycling regulations, including the Producers Responsibility Scheme, that offer producers economic incentives to recycle their own products. Producers are required to support recycling, which encourages them to manage waste at the source by streamlining material selection and packaging design.
Drink cartons, being composite materials, have more complex recycling processes. We hope that by advocating drink carton recycling, people in Hong Kong can pay attention to the recycling policies:
We will continue advocating for government implementation of a Producers Responsibility Scheme for all beverage containers and food packaging producers. We urge producers to be responsible for the environment and support the local recycling industry. At the same time, we hope the recycling of drink cartons will boost society's demand for recyclable materials. Together, let’s strive to improve waste management in Hong Kong!
Cartons are the second most commonly used (approximately 17%)* packaging for beverages in Hong Kong. Cartons are also used for household items such as broth and corn kernels, as well as egg custard and cream in large-scale eateries. Every year, 22,995 tonnes^ of waste carton are dumped in the landfill annually, which is equivalent to 2.1 billion cartons, enough to cover the area of 3,477 Hong Kong Stadiums.
There are two types of drink cartons. Aluminium foil cartons are made of paper, plastic and aluminium, while milk cartons are made of paper and plastic. All these materials can be recycled and reused. Drink carton recycling is common worldwide. The recycling rate in Japan is about 45%, Europe 40%, Taiwan 30% and mainland China 10%.
There are different ways of recycling drink cartons. A common method is to recover paper constituents and recycle them into different paper products, where the plastic and aluminium are made into plywood or fuel. Some methods involve turning the whole carton into composite panels and fuel, or separating all materials (paper, plastic and aluminium) and recycling them into different raw materials.
High or low recycling value?
The main component in drink cartons is paper (75% in aluminium foil carton; 85% in milk carton). Longer paper fibres can be recycled into more durable paper products. In particular, the paper in milk cartons is made from bleached wood pulp, and they have high recycling value as the recovered materials can be made into premium-quality paper.
Drink cartons also contain plastic and aluminium. The processing of such a composite material is more complex and costly, lowering the recycling value. Most places with high drink carton recycling rate actually have a Producers Responsibility Scheme in place to encourage recycling.
Can we put drink cartons into the wastepaper recycling bins?
No! Drink cartons are not only made of paper, they also contain plastic and aluminium. Aluminium foil cartons contain 20% plastic and 5% aluminium, while milk cartons contain 15% plastic. Drink cartons are composite materials, so they cannot be recycled as general wastepaper.
