Launched in Mumbai, the project aims to educate consumers about environmental issues and promote recycling used beverage cartons.
Educating, motivating and facilitating
For more than 13 years, Go Green with Tetra Pak has been raising awareness among consumers in Mumbai and Pune about the benefits of recycling and how to responsibly dispose of used beverage cartons. Tetra Pak India and NGO RUR Greenlife educate and encourage the public to reduce, reuse and recycle, while over 240 recycling points across Mumbai – over 60 of which are located at Sahakari Bhandar supermarkets – provide a convenient and practical solution for depositing used Tetra Pak cartons. These points also serve as centralised recycling hubs, where community centres, businesses and other organisations can directly deposit used cartons, reducing the carbon footprint of the collection process.
After collection, the cartons are sent to local recycler Deluxe Recycling. There they are transformed into composite sheets which can be used to manufacture a variety of products destined for the same communities that recycle. This includes campaigns like Bin Se Bench Tak (From the Bin to the Bench) in which cartons are recycled into garden benches that are then placed in public spaces within the communities. Another popular campaign is Cartons to Classroom, in which recycled beverage cartons are turned into things like notebooks and school desks for underprivileged classrooms. Even the recycling bins at collection points are manufactured from used cartons.
Responsible recycling and beyond
During Go Green with Tetra Pak’s 13 years of operation, more than 11 million cartons were collected at over 240 points across Mumbai. The programme has donated over 700 school desks and over 120,000 other items made completely from recycled cartons to underprivileged schools.
Educational efforts within the programme include workshops, activities and campaigns, extending beyond carton recycling to encourage initiatives like composting and the recycling of E-waste and other dry waste. Overall, the programme has impacted around 10 million individuals from schools, societies and corporations, as well as individual shoppers, encouraging them to opt for environmentally conscious recycling methods.
A long-term impact
The beauty of this programme is that the collections come not from short-term motivations, but through long-term proactive efforts by the people of Mumbai. These are citizens who are aware of the value of their efforts, and truly want to pay it forward. Through ongoing environmental education and facilities for recycling, the Go Green with Tetra Pak programme continues to empower people to act both individually and collectively to help the environment and give back to their communities. One way the programme achieves this is by fostering a community-driven ethos that encourages individuals and organisations to make lasting contributions towards a better future.
