A 12 month trial to recycle beverage cartons has just been launched at Eden?s busiest recycling centre, at B&Q in Penrith. The site at B&Q, which has long benefited from plastics recycling, is now the first place in the north west where cartons can be taken for recycling. There are also plans for one other carton bank at another location, although the details of this have yet to be finalised.

Beverage cartons, most commonly used for packaging fruit juice can also contain soups, custard, sauces and milk. Often referred to as 'Tetrapaks' after the market leader, beverage cartons come in a variety of shapes and sizes, all of which are readily recyclable. The most common are 'gable-tops' used for fresh products and 'bricks' for long life drinks. All cartons are made up of 70-90% paperboard with a polyethylene lining and also a very thin aluminium foil layer where an extended life is required.

The carton scheme, which is a joint venture between Eden Community Recycling and Eden District Council, is supported by the national Liquid Food Carton Manufacturers Association. The LFCMA made a donation for the purchase of one of the special blue caged banks, with the remaining costs being met by a Defra grant. The banks are to be serviced at no cost to the Council by Eden Community Recycling.

Colin Nineham, Director of Eden Community Recycling said:
" At Eden Community Recycling we are always interested in recycling new materials and we are not afraid to handle recyclables that are lightweight and therefore costly to collect. We pioneered plastics recycling in Cumbria, which is extremely popular and successful and I am sure the carton scheme will prove to be equally so."

Councillor Bryan Metz, Chairman of Eden District Council's Environment Committee said of the trial:
"This is a great scheme: the carton is a container that everyone uses, the scheme costs the Council nothing and residents have the opportunity to recycle yet another bulky, large volume item."
Ordinary paper mills are unable to recycle cartons because of the mix of materials. However, a paper mill in Fife has introduced equipment capable of separating the different materials for recycling. Jenny Francis of the LFCMA said:

" At the moment, the mill in Scotland can't get enough cartons, so we applaud the efforts being made in Eden. Eden Community Recycling have been really keen to get this scheme off the ground and have pulled out all the stops to make it work."
The paper recovered from beverage cartons is recycled into a wide range of paper products, from stationery, tissue and paper grab-bags to composting sacks.

Anybody using the carton banks is asked to wash and squash their cartons first and to remove any plastic lids and parts (these can be recycled in the plastics banks).