Local recycling center refused to accept Tetra Pak for recycling cause it is card with a metal lining... can Tetra Paks be recycled in Switzerland?

Don't think so. We always bin ours.

Must depend where - we can take ours at the local recycling centre in the village, special named skip for them and everything. Mind you, they probably just then tip them in a hole in the ground.

(I'm astonished by what can be recycled in our commune, right down to 'stale bread'! Although I have kids, so we recycle ours into the ducks.)

kodokan

Tetra Paks can't be recycled in either of the Basels. Into the bin they go, once I've squashed them to take up less pay-by-volume space.

I understand that Switzerland has no land fills -- everything gets incinerated! I hope they capture all the products of combustion ... and bury them ...

Tetra Pak cartons are recycled in some countries, although this is a fairly scattered service. As they are composed of cardboard, polythene and aluminium, traditional recycling is not possible.

The cartons are basically soaked to remove the card. The pulp is then used for various paper products. The remaining polythene and aluminium is used in a variety of processes. For example, in Germany it is used as a catalyst in cement production.

Recycling will probably only increase due to public presuure or stronger legislation.

Tetra Pak site

Take a close look at a Swiss garbage incineration plant. You'll notice that a very big part of the whole building consists of filter systems.

As for Tetra Pak: I use them to stuff stuff (ha ha) into them to reduce the volume, which again reduces the expenses for bags. You wouldn't believe how much you can squeeze into a 1 liter Tetra Brik. When my American Other Half is in the USA and I am here, I fill 1 liter with non-recyclable garbage -- every other week, mind you. That means I'd need way more than a year to fill one 35 liter bag. I think that's a pretty modest environmental footprint.

Go one step further in your environmental awareness and don't feed bread to ducks (or any other bird). It's basically the equivalent of you sitting in a playground tossing junk food at the kiddies.

I forgot to mention that only the cartons for ultra-pasteurized milk contains that alumin(i)um layer. It's that stuff that can be kept forever, only faintly tastes like milk and doesn't turn sour but eventually changes to a state between dishwashing water and toxic waste. Normal milk cartons don't contain alumin(i)um.

No need for the parentheses, Cap'n!

Good to know, but don't worry too much on their behalf - we almost never have bread leftover anyway, so it's a more of a 3-4 times a year treat for them. Even junk food's ok in moderation!

(I'm constantly amazed, though, by how full up the stale bread skip is at our recycling place - why on earth don't people just buy a lump off the 'by the weight' large bread on the counter, rather than taking two slices of a loaf and tossing the rest?)

kodokan