The recycling problems of Tetrapaks in Schools?

Question

I am currently working on a recycling project with my local school and i have a bit of a recycling problem.

The focus of the project is to improve the local primary school's "eco-friendly"-ness however I've hit a roadblock when it comes to tetra pack milk cartons.

While Tetrapacks are recyclable, children often cant/wont finish milk meaning the packs cant be recycled without considerable time/effort.

Is there a solution to my tertapack woes?

Answer 1

I am not quite sure what type of solution you are looking for.

The milk that is left in the carton has to be poured out so the carton can be recycled.

You will have to do this manually.

You could set up trays that children could place their unfinished cartons on and that would allow you to easily empty the milk into a bucket.

Those that do finish can just toss their cartons into the recycling bin.

You will have to have someone there to supervise the kids so you don't end up with half empty cartons in the recycling bin.

Your school should have a garden and in this garden there should be a composting area. Next to the composting area you can dig a hole and pour the milk in, just cover the milk saturated ground with a few inches of compost.

You will need to change spots after you fill the spot up with compost and after allowing each spot to sit for a few months it should be ok to reuse it again.

You will be adding lots of nutrients to the soil and to the finished compost.

You can also do this with any unfinished juice.

Make sure you cover the areas with a few inches of cover so you don't draw any unwanted animals or smells.

Good luck