The Alliance for Beverage Cartons and the Environment (ACE Ireland) has called on the government to allocate €3.5 million for sorting technology upgrades across Ireland’s materials recovery facility (MRF) network, gather detailed recycling data on packaging types and recognise beverage cartons as a priority packaging stream in national policy.
ACE Ireland represents Tetra Pak, Elopak and SIG Combibloc, manufacturers of beverage cartons for the Irish and European markets. In its Pre-Budget 2027 submission, published today, the organisation warns that without targeted investment in recycling infrastructure, Ireland risks falling short of legally binding EU recycling targets and missing opportunities to improve resource recovery across the waste management system.
ACE Ireland’s Getting Recycling Sorted report states that a €3.5 million investment in automatic sorting technology would allow MRFs across Ireland to more effectively identify and separate beverage cartons from household recycling collections, ensuring they can be sent for recycling at dedicated re-processing facilities. The alliance notes that Ireland’s recycling system is entering a ‘critical period’ as the EU’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) comes into effect in August 2026.
Apparently, the introduction of the Deposit Return Scheme has ‘significantly altered’ material flows within Ireland’s recycling sector, reducing the volume of high-value recyclable materials entering MRFs. ACE Ireland adds that targeted investment in automatic sorting technology at key facilities could ‘rapidly scale up’ Ireland’s ability to segregate packaging materials and improve overall recycling rates for all packaging.
ACE Ireland chief executive, Mandy Kelly, commented: “Ireland will miss EU mandated recycling targets without urgent investment in sorting infrastructure. This investment was committed to in the Programme for Government, but we are yet to see concrete action. With PPWR coming into effect from August 2026, action is needed to ensure Ireland can fulfil its recycling obligations. We are asking Government to invest €3.5 million in sorting technology in order to improve recycling rates across a range of packaging types.”
In January 2025, the former Alliance for Beverage Cartons and the Environment (ACE) and EXTR:ACT merged to form the Food and Beverage Carton Alliance (FBCA), with the aim to provide a uniform platform for food and beverage cartons. As part of our Packaging Europe podcast series, recently appointed director general Sebastian Bartels spoke to Elisabeth Skoda earlier this year about the role cartons can play in a circular economy and the alliance’s work and future plans.
The same month, Tetra Pak announced it had invested €60 million into a pilot plant for its paper-based barrier technologies, which are thought to unlock 80% paper content and 92% renewable content in a single aseptic carton. Tetra Pak’s facility is hoped to give customers more insight into the solution’s manufacturing process, from creating the barrier and producing the packaging material to combining the components into a filled package.
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