Pringles tubes and other paper containers with metal ends now accepted at Merseyside recycling bring banks

A new recycling service for paper containers with metal ends, such as Pringles tubes, hot chocolate, nuts and other products, has been launched at Merseyside’s 14 Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) this Recycle Week.

Merseyside Recycling and Waste Authority has introduced the service in partnership with Veolia and the Alliance for Beverage Cartons & the Environment (ACE UK).

Local residents can now recycle their containers alongside food and drink cartons via specialist bring banks located at HWRCs throughout the region.

The new service is the result of an agreement between ACE UK, which operates the dedicated food and drink carton recycling service, and packaging manufacturer Sonoco Consumer Products Europe.

Councillor Tony Concepcion, Chairperson of MRWA, said:

“Previously, paper containers with metal ends – such as Pringles tubes – could not be recycled in our region, but we were keen to take this opportunity to include them. Merseyside residents have always responded well to the different schemes we’ve implemented at our HWRCs, and we hope that they will take full advantage of this new service.”

Michael Wake, Contract Manager at Veolia, added:

“We’re delighted to be expanding the types of materials that are accepted at Recycling Centres in Merseyside. Recycling is a great example of how you can make small changes to contribute to a greener environment, by keeping materials in the loop and preserving raw materials.”

Richard Hands, CEO of ACE UK, said:

“ACE UK has been successfully running the industry’s recycling programme for the last 15 years, driving significant increases in carton recycling as part of its role as the UK’s food and drink carton industry trade body. We have worked closely with local authorities and waste management companies so that today 93% of local authorities collect food and drink cartons for recycling through either Bring Banks or kerbside collection.”

Helen Potter, sustainability commercial lead for Kellogg’s owned Pringles ,said:

“We know that people want to recycle their Pringles tubes. Including a solution for Pringles in the Bring Banks scheme will allow our consumers to return them to be recycled into something new and is an important interim solution as we work towards the development of our new tube. At Kellogg, we’re committed to making all of our packaging recyclable, reusable, or compostable by the end of 2025. This is another important step on this journey.”

Material collected from the Bring Banks is sent to ACE UK’s Stainland recycling facility in West Yorkshire, which is run by Sonoco Alcore. Fibre from the recycled cartons is fed directly into Sonoco Alcore’s paper mill on the same site, to be turned into industrial coreboard.

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