REO spoke about recycling juice pouches and obtaining raw materials for ballpoint pens

The Russian Environmental Operator (REO) has analyzed the available waste disposal technologies in Russia and identified production facilities that use juice and milk cartons to produce raw materials for ballpoint pens. The experience of Russian companies was reflected in the Album of technologies for utilization of waste from the use of goods. "Izvestia" got acquainted with the operator's information on November 26.

According to REO data, combined packaging - tetrapack and other types of packaging in which juices and milk are poured - is utilized in the country by 14 plants with a capacity of 25.2 thousand tons. A year 240 thousand tons of such packaging waste is generated. At the same time, pens made of recycled materials are most often produced by companies specializing in eco-products. There are several such companies in Russia, located in the Perm, Kaluga and Vladimir regions. But so far, no such company has been able to confirm its capacity and enter the register of recyclers.

"Combination packaging, which is often used to store juice or milk, is not considered the most environmentally friendly due to its multi-component nature. In order to recycle the packaging, it must first be broken down into its components. As a rule, such composite packaging consists of 70-75% paper, 20-22% cardboard (base), polymers (lid and protective layers) and 3% aluminum foil. It is quite difficult to recycle such packaging," noted Denis Butsayev, Director General of REO.

However, according to him, even from such packaging it is possible to obtain raw materials for the production of new goods. One plastic pen from recycled tetrapak or similar packages will require about two or three bags.

"And given that about 6-8 billion combined packages are sold in the Russian Federation annually, and only about 15-20% of them are recycled, the remaining two billion juice and milk packets are what could find a second life in the form of handles and secondary polyaluminum raw materials used in construction materials and asphalt mixtures," Butsayev stressed.

According to him, the recycling process is hampered by the cleaning of packaging from organic and other contaminants. The expert explained that both dry method and wet separation are used for utilization of combined paper-based packaging. Wet separation technology is not widely used due to the need to build expensive treatment facilities, the use of reagents and significant energy costs. The dry method of dissolution is less costly, but it is demanding to the cleanliness of the waste that comes for disposal, so in separate collection it is important that all waste is clean and dry, specified in the REO.

"Using the example of recycling milk cartons into pens, we can see how the closed loop economy works. Multilayer packaging waste based on paper or cardboard, polyethylene and aluminum foil is selected from municipal solid waste, then it is all sent for recycling. At the processing stage, recyclable materials are obtained from each fraction - paper, aluminum, plastic. Then it is sent to enterprises, where new goods are produced from it. The cycle is closed, and natural resources are preserved, while the amount of waste in landfills is reduced," explained the head of the REO.

Earlier, on November 21, it was reported that Russia annually generates about 1.5 million tons of electronic and electrical equipment waste, of which only 5% is recycled. Most of the electronics waste is household appliances (67%), which includes televisions. This follows from the REO data. Experts noted that TV sets with fluorescent backlighting are the most dangerous for the environment.