To drive the increased collection and recycling of liquid board packaging (LBP) in South Africa, food processing and packaging solutions company Tetra Pak South Africa will join the PET Recycling Company (Petco), a well-established producer responsibility organisation.

Tetra Pak’s membership starts on January 1.

The decision for Tetra Pak to join Petco was driven by the need for greater collaboration to improve the collection and recycling of LBP in South Africa.

Petco is noted to have a successful record in supporting recycling value chains in South Africa.

Petco will be administering an extended producer responsibility (EPR) scheme to cater for the LBP sector from January 1, in addition to the other EPR schemes already being offered by Petco.

As the first member to join Petco’s LBP EPR scheme, Tetra Pak South Africa and Petco are taking a first step with this new partnership, and in time, the expectation is that other LBP converters and brand owners will join this scheme for a greater impact.

As part of this joining of forces, both Tetra Pak and Petco commit to improving awareness by increased educational activities among the South African public on issues related to LBP segregation and collection.

Moreover, the scheme will be implementing a model for value chain support to stimulate collection and increase end-use demand for recycled content. There is already existing recycling capacity and infrastructure for LBP in the country that has been developed over the years, and the intended model will seek to maximise use of this.

Recycling is at the centre of a low-carbon circular economy that aims to reduce waste and keep materials in use for longer. LBP can be recycled and transformed into a wide range of new products. However, segregation at source, collection and sorting are emphasised as critical for recycling to work.

Tetra Pak believes EPR regulations are essential and in line with the company’s ambitions of improving the recycling value chain for LBP.