Monday 15 November 2010

Environment: Tetra Pak Carton Recycling

Okay, since I think you will need some time to try out the homework I have assigned to you last week, so I will postpone my blog entry on writing till Friday. Till then, we will look at some simpler things and hopefully I can raise your awareness in this.

When you buy some packet drinks from a supermarket, you actually buy the carton as well. You drink the liquid and throw away the carton. But do you know that the carton is actually designed to be recyclable?

Image from ecosherpa.com

Now, don't start throwing your milk carton into the recycle bins if you are in Hong Kong, because nope, Hong Kong doesn't help with the recycling of milk carton. In UK, they do. From the Local Government Channel,

"Tetra Pak
Tetra Pak is committed to boosting carton recycling rates in the UK. In this year alone, they have announced a £300,000 fund available for local authorities wanting to establish carton collection schemes in their area and have hired a national recycling officer dedicated to making sure it happens."


Exactly, how they do this? Here is a not-so-interesting but informative video to watch:


What is really inside a Tetra Pak container?
Image from Wikipedia

That means, it contain lots of plastics, paper and aluminium, which theoretically speaking, can all be recycled.

And here is a video of a recycle factory of Tetra Pak in action:



So, what has the Hong Kong government do about this carton recycling? They wanted more land for rubbish dumping, of course!


Homework:
How come I used  "theoretically speaking" when I wrote "That means, it contain lots of plastics, paper and aluminium, which theoretically speaking, can all be recycled"?

Resources:
Local Government Channel in UK
http://www.localgovernmentchannel.com/news/v/carton_recycling_let_s_make_it_happen_/to/recycling_waste/

Recycling Tetra Pak Milk Cartons on YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJt9J0jtl6s

Tetra Pak on Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetra_Pak#Criticism

Tetra Pak USA Environmental Video on YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=niHuji9d_mI&feature=related