New technology recycles entire cardboard beverage containers

Recon Polymers BV, a sustainable startup based in Roosendaal, the Netherlands, has introduced a new technological solution for recycling all components from cardboard beverage containers. The innovative method makes it possible to recycle the mix of plastic and aluminum that results from the recycling of cardboard beverage containers in Europe. 

Recycling of plastic and aluminium

An average cardboard beverage container consists of approximately 75% cardboard, 20% plastic and 5% aluminum foil. The recovery of fibers during the recycling process is already very common. For example, those fibers are converted into high-quality paper pulp for use in both industrial and consumer products. However, this is not yet the case for the plastic and aluminum mix typically used in cardboard beverage containers.

With the new technology, extracted plastic and aluminum mix can be converted into raw materials for applications in the plastics industry. Recon Polymers separates in the new process the caps, mainly of HDPE plastic, and the plastic with aluminum layers, which is mainly LDPE plastic. The recycled materials from the caps are reused in products such as non-food bottles, tubes, recycling bins, et cetera.

The LDPE plastic with the aluminum originating from the layers of a cardboard beverage container are processed together into a new raw material, which is also called PolyAl. All kinds of new applications are being developed for this. The Dutch producer Fauna Birdproducts BV has already introduced a number of PolyAl products to the market, such as bird feeders for the brand 'Singing Friend'. These products can now be found at major Dutch retailers such as Jumbo and Albert Heijn. The goal is to continue to explore new applications to increase the long-term value of PolyAl.

Steadily increasing production

Recon Polymers was established in 2016 as a pilot plant. With the support of Tetra Pak, both parties are very pleased to announce that a commercial plant was started up in September last year. The capacity of Recon Polymers' plant is about 6,000 tons of PolyAl per year and will be reached during 2021 with the ambition to expand capacity as soon as possible. The goal is to increase the production in Roosendaal to 15,000 tons of PolyAl per year, where the recyclable material will mainly come from neighboring countries.