Tetra Pak has announced the upgrade of food and beverage carton sorting capabilities at J&B Recycling’s materials recycling facility (MRF) in Hartlepool, in collaboration with British technology start-up, Recycleye. Tetra Pak covered the production and installation of two robotic arms for sorting food and beverage cartons at the facility.
This upgrade will enable J&B Recycling, an FCC Environment Company, to increase the sorting of food and beverage cartons for recycling. The group serves several local authorities, including Newcastle City Council, Sunderland City Council, North Tyneside Council, Hartlepool Council and Hull Council.
A further two UK MRFs have received a similar investment to upgrade their food and beverage carton sorting technology, bringing Tetra Pak’s total investment in UK sorting infrastructure in 2025 to £1.4 million. The other sites will be announced later this year.
Investing in J&B Recycling marks a milestone in Tetra Pak’s long-standing work in collaboration with legislators and local authorities to improve the collection, sorting and recycling of food and beverage cartons in the UK.
This work in the UK is part of Tetra Pak’s wider annual commitment of over £34 million per year to expand food and beverage carton collection, sorting and recycling infrastructure globally, in collaboration with stakeholders across the value chain. Of this, £2.4 million from Tetra Pak has been ringfenced specifically for infrastructure to sort food and beverage cartons in the UK, in addition to £24 million from the Alliance for Beverage Cartons and the Environment (ACE UK). This investment has been used to bolster the wider recycling value chain, including collection points and bring banks, and upgrades to sorting facilities.
This investment comes ahead of the introduction of the government’s Simpler Recycling policy for households in March 2026. Tetra Pak has assisted the government in the development of the policy which will mean that everyone in England will be able to dispose of their cartons from kerbside for recycling. Rules were also launched for businesses in England in March of this year requiring premises to recycle specific materials in separate bins. This policy is expected to substantially increase the collection of food and beverage cartons at kerbside, making effective sorting infrastructure for recycling them even more necessary.
Awantika Chadha, Sustainability Manager, Tetra Pak UK, said: “We believe in, and are working towards, a highly effective recycling system. Today’s announcement of the robotic arm installation at J&B Recycling demonstrates our commitment to improving the UK’s recycling infrastructure. We look forward to continuing our collaborative efforts with industry leaders such as Recycleye on new sorting solutions which bolster the wider recycling chain.”
Victor Dewulf, Co-founder and CEO of Recycleye, said: “We’re excited to be working with Tetra Pak, ACE UK and MRFs across the UK such as J&B Recycling to improve the effectiveness of food and beverage carton sorting. We believe that technology is a crucial part of the solution to improve recycling systems – and our robotic arm has a track record of improving carton sorting for waste streams. It has been a smooth retrofit with minimum disruption at site to install these two robotic arms and quickly start recovering food and beverage cartons. We are looking forward to supporting the industry further.”
Vikki Jackson-Smith, Managing Director at J&B Recycling, said: “We are proud to be working with Tetra Pak and Recycleye on this important project to enhance beverage carton recycling at our facility. We are grateful for the investment in J&B Recycling and the opportunity to be part of a project that is helping to strengthen the UK’s recycling infrastructure. This technology upgrade will improve the efficiency of our operations and support the local authorities we work with as they prepare for the transition to Simpler Recycling. At J&B Recycling, we are committed to investing in innovative solutions that drive environmentally responsible waste management across the communities we serve.”
Mandy Kelly, Chief Executive of ACE UK, said: “This investment marks a significant step forward in delivering the UK’s circular economy ambitions, enabling even more fully recyclable liquid cartons to be given a second life at our dedicated UK reprocessing facility. By improving the ability of materials recovery facilities to identify and sort cartons, we can ensure more of this valuable material is recycled and kept in the circular economy. It’s a great example of industry collaboration delivering real impact and comes at exactly the right time, as local authorities and waste operators prepare for Simpler Recycling. ACE UK is proud to support this outstanding initiative.”
