Issued: 12 Dec 2025
The Highland Council, in conjunction with Tetra Pak Ltd and the carton industry body ACE UK (Alliance for Beverage Cartons and the Environment), has launched a new beverage carton recycling scheme at its Recycling Centres in Aviemore, Dingwall, Fort William, Nairn and Thurso to give residents the opportunity to recycle even more of their household rubbish.
Every year, UK beverage carton manufacturers produce approximately 60,000 tonnes of paper-based cartons for milk and juices, this equates to around 2.3kg of cartons per household* which could be recycled instead of being thrown in the rubbish bin.
Once collected they are taken away to be baled and then transported to a recycling mill. They can be recycled into a number of different products, ranging from plasterboard liner to high-strength paper bags and envelopes.
Chairman of the Council's TEC Services Committee, Councillor John Laing said: "Highland households have always responded well to the different recycling schemes we've implemented, but we've still got some tough targets to meet. We're delighted that Tetra Pak and the carton industry is supporting us to help increase the number of cartons recycled in the Highlands."
Richard Hands, Environment Manager at Tetra Pak Ltd and Chairman of ACE UK, added: "Whilst cartons have been successfully recycled in large volumes for many years throughout Europe, the UK has a long way to go. It's therefore fantastic news that The Highland Council is taking a lead by adding cartons to the list of materials collected for recycling and we very much hope that the initiative is successful. We and our industry partners are committed to increasing the level of carton recycling in the UK with the aim of reaching a national network of carton collection by the end of 2025. Our work with The Highland Council takes us and households in the area one step closer to achieving that."
Since April last year, the UK carton industry has made £1.5 million available to help local authorities interested in starting up carton collection schemes in their area. There are already over 280 district areas collecting cartons, which will result in a national network of coverage during the next 18 months. The carton industry continues to work with new paper mills to trial carton recycling to ensure the industry can cater for this increase in carton recycling, as more areas come on board.
For more information on recycling call 01349 868439 or visit www.highland.gov.uk. For more information on beverage carton recycling, visit www.tetrapakrecycling.co.uk.
Please remember: wash and squash your carton before recycling and only put paper-based liquid food and drinks cartons in the recycling bins, unless otherwise specified on the bin. No plastic, card, cans, glass, plastic bags or foil.