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Global food processing and packaging solutions company Tetra Pak and UAE-based Union Paper Mills (UPM) will invest jointly in a a commercially viable collection and recycling value chain for used beverage cartons (UBC) in the UAE at a total investment of 2.5 million UAE dirhams (680,772).
Tetra Pak and UPM had signed an MOU for the partnership in November last year, following which they had engaged in technical assessments and industrial trials with carton packages collected from local dairy producers.
The formalisation of the partnership outlined Tetra Pak's capital expenditure for new equipment to be installed at UPM, recycling targets and key performance indicators (KPIs) as well as areas of collaboration in developing the collection and recycling of UBC in the UAE, Tetra Pak said in a press statement.
The equipment for the recycling line is set to be ordered in December with delivery and installation expected in the second half of 2024.
The statement said UPM's recycling process will extract high-quality virgin paper fibres from UBC that will be used in the production of high-quality test liner for corrugated cardboard boxes. Polyethylene and Aluminium (polyAl) from the recycled cartons will be sent to Saudi Top Plastics (STP), a recycling partner of Tetra Pak in Saudi Arabia, to be recycled into various products such as pallets and crates.
"The project aligns with the UAE government's ambitions to divert waste from landfills and enhance local recycling capabilities. We are proud to co-chair the Sustainable Manufacturing pillar within the Circular Economy Policy Council and to collaborate with the Circular Packaging Association to drive positive change at a systemic level,” said Niels Hougaard, Managing Director of Tetra Pak Arabia.
(Writing by Senthil Palanisamy; Editing by Anoop Menon)
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