Scaling Advanced Recycling Capacity: Tetra Pak’s Partnership with DLL
Tetra Pak is a global leader in food processing and packaging solutions. Sustainability is a crucial focus for Tetra Pak. As the company embraces the circular economy, they are working towards reducing climate impact across their value chain and building recycling infrastructure with their partners to increase the recycling rates of food and beverage cartons.
As an example, Tetra Pak has joined forces with Yellow Dreams, a Dutch start-up, to further expand the recycling infrastructure of cartons. With a joint investment of around €3 million by Tetra Pak and Yellow Dreams, a new facility will be established where the non-fiber component from food and beverage cartons can be recycled. Financing company DLL, a subsidiary of Rabobank, is helping to finance the project.
From used to useful again
The new facility in the Netherlands has a capacity of 20,000 tons of PolyAl per year. PolyAl results from separating polymer and aluminum from used food and beverage cartons. Cartons can be recycled into valuable materials for new products. This is only possible with proper infrastructure for collection, sorting and recycling. Expanding this infrastructure is therefore a high priority for Tetra Pak. Yellow Dreams uses the recycled PolyAl to create new products, such as reusable pallets or 3D-printed objects.
Financing by DLL
Such a large recycling project requires significant capital and new technology. Traditionally, DLL helps Tetra Pak by offering financing solutions to their end-users, for example through operating leases (rentals), loans and finance leases. It allows companies to start production immediately without mobilizing a substantial amount of capital. For this project, DLL financed Yellow Dreams directly, enabling them to build this advanced recycling facility.
Sustainable classification
DLL uses banking regulations and the EU Taxonomy to determine which equipment is sustainable. This applies to tractors, technology, workspaces, healthcare, logistics and food processing machinery, for example. These rules help DLL determine what qualifies as sustainable and provide clarity in financing and reporting.
Subsidy for the future
Though the Yellow Dreams project did not receive funding from the European Investment Bank (EIB) as it started before the equipment met EIB requirements, DLL has since received approval for this technology. This means that similar projects in the future will be eligible for EIB subsidies, making it easier to build more recycling capacity.