— By Plasteurope.com staff — 

Tetra Pak (Lausanne, Switzerland; www.tetrapak.com) and Schoeller Allibert (Hoofddorp, Netherlands; www.schoellerallibert.com) have announced the launch of a new transport crate made from polyAl, a material derived from used beverage cartons. The crates are to be showcased at the Plastics Recycling Show Europe (PRSE; www.prseventeurope.com) in Amsterdam, which is running from 1-2 April.

Schoeller Allibert, a global leader in returnable transport packaging solutions, has developed these crates by integrating up to 50% polyAl, according to Tetra Pak. The material is derived from the remaining mixture of polymers and aluminium left after the fibres in aseptic beverage cartons are extracted during recycling. Next, it is turned into pellets and used for products such as pallets, crates, and even outdoor furniture, the company added.

Related: CCEP switches to reusable beverage crates made from recyclate in Netherlands

The crates are currently undergoing field tests to ensure quality and durability. Once validated, Tetra Pak said it plans to gradually replace over 50,000 crates at its global spare-parts distribution centre in Lund, Sweden, with the new polyAl-based crates.

Britta Wyss Bisang, VP of Sustainability and Strategic MarCom at Schoeller Allibert, emphasised the importance of material innovation in creating sustainable supply chains. “This project demonstrates how advanced recycling solutions can turn waste into durable, reusable packaging that supports circular logistics and thereby the transition to a circular economy,” she said.

According to Tetra Pak, in 2023 it invested EUR 40 mn to boost the recycling capacity for carton packages in Europe and had plans to increase the amount further over the coming years.

In addition, as published by Plasteurope.com in January of this year, the company partnered with environmental services provider Yellow Dreams (Herkenbosch, Netherlands), to announce it was investing around EUR 3 mn to build a new polyAl recycling plant at Ittervoort in the Netherlands – set to begin operations in late 2025.