Tetra pak ‘How do you squash yours’ competition to recycle cartons!

Filed in Blog by on June 24, 2009 7 Comments
FavoriteLoadingAdd article to favourites
How do you squash yours? Enter the Tetra pak recycling competition

How do you squash yours? Enter the Tetra pak recycling competition

Tetra pak are launching an exciting YouTube competition tomorrow entitled ‘How do you squash yours?’ to encourage consumers not only to recycle, but squash their tetra pak cartons!

The aim is to educate householders about the importance of recycling their tetra pak cartons in the most eco friendly way possible.

By squashing our cartons, it means less trucks on the road, which is better for the environment; plus it gives every one the chance to recycle more.

Tetra pak ‘how do you squash yours’ competition

The average person in the UK uses over 50 cartons every year. By squashing our cartons we can get at least 3 times more cartons in the bins and collection vehicles. It also means they take up less room when you are storing them at home.

I must admit, I’ve noticed that our local tetrapak recycling bank is nearly always full and overflowing with unsquashed cartons. I’ve forced mine in there and had old juice and soya milk dripping down my wrists, which isn’t exactly fun.

Tetrapak are looking for people to show them the craziest or most imaginative way they squash their cartons in order to win a prize! The top prize is a ‘chance of a lifetime’ conservation holiday.

Tetra pak recycling

Help spread the message about carton recycling by entering the competition, blogging about it and telling your friends all about it.

You’ve got until 1st November 2009, after which the ‘top ten’ will be short-listed and the public will vote for the winner.

I know you’re a talented bunch of inspirational folk, so I’m eager to know; how do you squash yours!? With a potato masher or by jumping on them? Tell all and don’t forget to enter the competition!

Tags:

About the Author ()

I am a long time supporter of the Green and Sustainable lifestyle. After being caught in the Boscastle floods in 2004, our family begun a journey to respect and promote the importance of Earth's fragile ecosystem, that focussed on reducing waste. Inspired by the beauty and resourcefulness of this wonderful planet, I have published numerous magazine articles on green issues and the author of four books.

Comments (7)

Trackback URL | Comments RSS Feed

  1. John Costigane says:

    Hi Mrs Green,

    Good to see TetraPak taking up their responsibility for waste, with a campaign. I do not use the cartons because of the Zero Waste aspect, but realise they are very convenient for busy lifestyles. There must be a huge landfill component due to the combination waste, which has to be specially processed in Sweden.

    Improved packaging would be a big plus but the recycling percentage is the immediate target to make the system as sustainable as possible.

  2. I don’t use cartons only the odd Jubbly Lolly wrapper as mentioned before and these go flat anyway.

  3. Kelly Jones says:

    My 3 year old daughter Roxy loves to jump on them, but beware if there’s a dribble left it shoots out and gets you!
    She has also cut these up to use in a collage with sweets wrappers to make a rainbow.

  4. Poppy says:

    I do so hope this campaign rubs off onto other squashable recycling.

    My latest visit to the HRC to recycle a large amount of cardboard (juniors new bike ), plastic bottles and batteries from school, was spoilt by the sight of a middle aged, intelligent looking man, putting whole (unsquashed) cans into the collection bank and then some very large (also unsquashed) plastic bottles 🙁

    Even if there had never ever been a campaign suggesting that people squash these things, it (to me), is such a logical thing to do! What was the man thinking?

  5. Mrs Green says:

    @John Costigane: Hi John, I understand your reluctance to use tetra pak cartons. We get through a lot as we drink soya milk and fruit juice every day. Let’s hope with an increase in recycling, the process to do so can become more sustainable.

    @maisie dalziel: I remember you mentioning the Jubbly lolly wrappers; I must keep an eye out for those! I tend to make my own with lolly moulds, but sometimes it’s nice to buy a shop bought product.

    @Kelly Jones: Hi Kelly, welcome to the site and thank you for your comment. It sounds like Roxy has a lot of fun with the cartons. Why not video her and enter the competition; you never know – she might win you a holiday!

    @Poppy: Oh dear poppy; when you stop to think about it, plastic bottles and cans must be 99% air – it seems such a waste to pay to transport it. At our local recycling centre I’ve seen compactors on the cardboard, metal and non recyclable materials – I wonder if they use those on bottles too …

  6. John Costigane says:

    Hi Mrs Green,

    If Jenny manages to remove incineration from the process and if her recycling schemes work then I will definitely start buying TetraPaks to back a sustainable option. It is a tall order for Jenny, but the YouTube videos are a scream, with Doctor Who, Mission Impossible (with incidental music) and a less than useful trampoline chaos (funny all the same).

    My idea is acupuncture, followed by Yoga squeezing technique, reaching Karma when all air and fluid has been evacuated. Other less practical ideas can be used as well.

  7. Mrs Green says:

    @John Costigane: Hi John; I love your idea and think you should go about creating a video – it would be a real laugh! I haven’t yet waded through them all; I was trying to figure out a suitable stunt for LMG to participate in!

Leave a Reply