Article 1: ACE Belgium consumer survey: More than half of Belgians deliberately choose beverage cartons
Two out of three consumers would like more information about the recycling process
In April this year, ACE Belgium published a press release presenting the results of a consumer survey conducted on its behalf by an independent research agency among a representative sample of 1,000 Belgians. The survey examined consumers’ perceptions of beverage cartons, their recyclability, and their sustainability.
The results show that Belgian consumers generally have a positive view of beverage cartons, and confirm that consumers care about sustainability. Still, more awareness is needed on recycling, raw materials, and environmental impact.
Overall, consumers are already active actors of the circular economy, with 83.5% saying they always dispose of used beverage cartons correctly in the blue PMD bag. In addition, more than half of the respondents (52.2%) deliberately choose beverage cartons for their sustainability profile and circularity credentials. Nearly two-thirds of Belgians view beverage cartons as recyclable and suitable for processing into new valuable materials after use.
Nevertheless, the survey shows limited awareness about what happens to beverage cartons after they have been collected and sorted, and 65.9% respondents indicated that they do not know what happens to the material after recycling. Several misconceptions also persist regarding sustainability. For example, 43.1% of Belgians believe that recyclability and the use of renewable raw materials are the same thing, while 38.8% think that the production of beverage cartons leads to a reduction in forests. At the same time, consumers are clearly asking for greater transparency: 58% consider it important that information on the CO₂ footprint of packaging be readily available.
For ACE Belgium, the findings underline the importance of objective communication and continued awareness-raising about the circular properties of food and beverage cartons.
The fact sheet of the research report is available at: https://beveragecarton.be/research-march-2026/