The renewable, fully recyclable & low carbon choice.
About ACE UK
The Alliance for Beverage Cartons and the Environment (ACE) UK represents Tetra Pak, Elopak and SIG Combibloc, the leading manufacturers of food and drink cartons for the UK and European markets.
ACE UK’s objective is to promote food and drink cartons as a renewable, fully recyclable and low carbon packaging choice and delivers environmental initiatives in the UK on behalf of our members, including running the industry’s food and drink carton recycling programme.
About food and drink cartons
Food and drink cartons protect the freshness, flavour and nutritional qualities of fresh and long-life food and drink products, enabling storage and distribution at ambient temperatures and under refrigerated conditions. They are widely used to package milk, milk substitutes, fruit juice and an increasingly wide range of food products such as soup, chopped tomatoes and pulses.
A sustainable package:
Food and drink cartons are the most sustainable packaging choice for their category. They have a low carbon footprint, are made of 75% natural and renewable materials, and are space and transport efficient, saving CO2 emissions. And of course, they are fully recyclable, with the vast majority of UK local authorities collecting cartons for recycling, either at kerbside or through local bring bank collections. You can find out where to recycle food and drink cartons in your area here.
What are food and drink cartons made of?
On average food and drink cartons are:
75% Wood fibre
– the high-quality wood fibres in cartons are long lasting and strong, and can be recycled up to six times, making them a valuable raw material for new paper and board products, contributing to a circular economy.
21% Polymers
– thin layers of low-density polyethylene to prevent leakage.
4% Aluminium
– (for ambient cartons only) a very fine layer of aluminium foil to protect drinks and food from light and oxygen, keeping the product fresh and ensure aroma and flavour is retained.