From Milk Juice Box to Recycled Pellets ：Aluminum-Plastic Separation & Pellet Production via Juice/Milk Box Separation Carton Machine

The lightweight milk/juice cartons we use daily often end up as “other waste” after serving their purpose. These composite materials—comprising cardboard (70-80%), polyethylene plastic (~20%), and ultra-thin aluminum foil (~5%)—offer excellent food protection but pose recycling challenges due to their complex structure. If improperly handled, they ultimately occupy landfills or incinerators, wasting paper, plastic, and aluminum resources while causing potential pollution.

Modern recycling technology, however, breathes new life into Tetra Pak. Specialized facilities employ a precision process: collected cartons undergo efficient crushing and thorough cleaning to remove residual liquids and impurities. The core stage is hydraulic pulping—using water force to decompose the material, separating valuable paper fibers for recycling into high-quality cardboard or paper products. The remaining aluminum-plastic composite (~25-30%) then enters an innovative aluminum-plastic separation recycling phase. Through techniques like high-temperature extrusion, aluminum foil and plastic are either fully separated or melt-blended. Aluminum is independently recycled, while polyethylene plastic is fed into extruders, melted, filtered, and shaped into uniform recycled plastic pellets.

These pellets (yielding ~600 kg per ton of cartons) become valuable raw materials for the circular economy. They’re widely used to manufacture flowerpots, outdoor benches, industrial pallets, and even construction templates. Their value extends beyond resource recovery: compared to virgin plastic, recycled pellets reduce energy consumption (~70% savings) and greenhouse gas emissions (~40% reduction), while decreasing reliance on petroleum. Data confirms that recycling 1 ton of used Tetra Pak saves ~1.1 tons of wood and cuts ~1.4 tons of CO₂ emissions—delivering immediate environmental benefits.

Thus, placing empty milk/juice cartons into recycling bins ignites this green cycle. From sophisticated packaging to resilient pellets, Tetra Pak’s recycling journey represents technology’s power to reclaim resources and humanity’s steadfast march toward sustainability. Every sorted disposal reduces Earth’s burden, granting discarded packaging a renewed life in an endless loop of regeneration.

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