What packaging stream do you need to sort?
Food-Grade Plastics
Separate food vs. non-food plastic packaging and recover high-purity PET, HDPE and PP fractions.
Mixed packaging
Recover plastics, paper, metals and beverage cartons from complex post-consumer packaging streams.
Mixed paper
Remove impurities and create higher-value recovered paper fractions for paper and board manufacturing.
Beverage cartons
Detect and separate Tetra Pak and similar beverage cartons, including flattened, unflattened and folded packages.
Used beverage cans (UBC)
Recover high-purity UBC aluminum and remove non-UBC contaminants such as aerosols, food cans and trays.
TOMRA technologies for packaging applications
Why is packaging waste harder to sort?
| Stricter packaging regulation | More complex packaging formats | Higher quality expectations |
|---|---|---|
| Recycled-content targets, recyclability requirements and EPR schemes are increasing the demand for cleaner output fractions. | Mixed plastics, multilayer packaging, films, beverage cartons and aluminum packaging require more precise separation. | Recyclers need stable purity and recovery while reducing manual sorting and maintaining throughput. |
What packaging sorting challenge are you trying to solve?
Improve output purity
Recycled packaging output can be downgraded when non-target materials remain in the stream or quality varies from shift to shift. This can affect buyer acceptance, material value and the downstream use of recycled plastics, paper, beverage cartons or UBC aluminum. TOMRA experts work with you to identify where contamination occurs and define the right technology combination for your purity targets, plant setup and output specifications.
How to sort key packaging waste streams for recycling
How are food-grade plastics sorted from non-food packaging?
Food-grade plastics are sorted by separating food-contact packaging from non-food packaging across PET, HDPE and PP streams. This can include PET bottles, PET trays, HDPE containers, PP pots, tubs and thermoformed packaging. The challenge is that polymer type alone is often not enough. Recyclers may also need to identify application, shape, color, object type and food-contact status to achieve the required output quality. TOMRA experts work with you to define the best combination of technologies for your material stream, plant setup and output requirements. Depending on the application, this may include GAINnext™ for AI-based object classification and AUTOSORT™ for high-throughput sensor-based sorting.
How is mixed packaging waste sorted into recyclable fractions?
Mixed packaging waste is sorted by separating plastics, paper, metals, beverage cartons and other valuable materials from one complex post-consumer stream. Typical target materials can include PET bottles, PET trays, HDPE packaging, PP packaging, PE films, LDPE and LLDPE films, mixed paper, beverage cartons, aluminum packaging and steel cans. Because input composition varies by region and collection system, the sorting approach needs to remain flexible. TOMRA experts work with you to define the right technology combination for your target fractions, input material and output requirements. Depending on the stream, this may include AUTOSORT™, AUTOSORT™ SPEEDAIR and GAINnext™.
How is mixed paper recovered from packaging waste?
Mixed paper is recovered by separating paper and board fractions from non-paper contaminants such as plastic films, rigid plastic packaging, metals, textiles, beverage cartons and other impurities. The goal is to create cleaner recovered paper fractions for paper and board manufacturing while reducing materials that lower fiber quality or disrupt downstream processing. TOMRA experts work with you to identify the right sorting approach for your mixed paper stream and quality requirements. Depending on the application, AUTOSORT™ can support the recovery and purification of paper-based packaging fractions.
How are beverage cartons and Tetra Pak sorted for recycling?
Beverage cartons such as Tetra Pak are sorted by separating mixed-material cartons from other packaging waste. These cartons are mainly made from recyclable paperboard, but also contain polymer and aluminum layers, often referred to as PolyAl. A key challenge is reliable detection in different object conditions, including flattened, unflattened and folded cartons. TOMRA experts work with you to evaluate your beverage carton stream and define the right sorting setup. Depending on the plant configuration, AUTOSORT™ can support the detection and separation of Tetra Pak and similar beverage cartons from mixed packaging streams.
How are used beverage cans separated from other aluminum packaging?
Used beverage cans, or UBC, are separated by identifying aluminum beverage cans and removing non-UBC aluminum such as aerosols, food cans and aluminum trays, as well as other metals and plastics. The challenge is that these materials can look similar in the stream, but they have different recycling routes and material values. TOMRA experts work with you to develop the best setup for high-purity UBC recovery. Depending on the application, this may include GAINnext™ for AI-based UBC classification and AUTOSORT™ as part of the wider packaging recovery process.
