Tetra Pak and Earth Recycler accelerate recycling of used cartons in Tamil Nadu

Chennai, October 19:

Tetra Pak, a world leading packaging and processing solutions
company, recognized the world over for their focus on sustainability has joined hands
with Chennai based Earth Recycler to accelerate the recycling of used Tetra Pak cartons
in the city. This project will focus on increasing collection of used carton packages from
Zone 7, 8, and 13 of Chennai, while also raising awareness about the value of used cartons
packages among the waste trade and creating a dedicated recycling stream for used
cartons.
In the first year, the program expects to collect over 13 million cartons for recycling while
generating direct employment for over 10 residents and indirect employment for over
1200 others across the waste management value chain.
The occasion was graced by Mr. Vikram Kapur, IAS Additional Chief Secretary, Planning &
Development, Government of Tamil Nadu, Ms._Supriya Sahu, IAS, Additional Chief
Secretary Environment Climate Change & Forests, Govt of Tamil Nadu and Mr. Gagandeep
Singh Bedi, IAS, Commissioner, Greater Chennai’s Corporation.
Mr Vikram Kapur, IAS Additional Chief Secretary , Planning and Development
department, Govt of Tamil Nadu said, “The Greater Chennai Corporation and the Tamil
Nadu Pollution Control Board have been working on various initiatives to promote
recycling of packaging waste. We are happy to see that these paper-based cartons are
already being recycled in the state, and this new collaborative initiative will increase this
even further, which fits perfectly into our mission of building a healthier, cleaner, litter-
free Tamil Nadu.”
Mr. Gagandeep Singh Bedi, IAS, Commissioner, Greater Chennai Corporation added, “We
are happy to see organizations like Earth Recycler and Tetra Pak proactively boost their
efforts to strengthen the waste management and recycling infrastructure in Chennai
and Tamil Nadu at large. As the Municipal Corporation, we would be happy to extend
any support needed to enable and scale this program to ensure that recyclable waste
like used Tetra Pak cartons can be efficiently recovered and recycled.”
“We are grateful to the Municipal Corporation of Chennai for extending their support to
our latest collection program. Tetra Pak cartons being paper-based & recyclable are a
valuable resource for recyclers across the country, thereby playing an important role in
promoting a circular economy. We aim to collect over 13 million cartons from 3 zones in
one year, with a potential to scale across other zones over time,” said Mr. Ashutosh
Manohar, Managing Director, Tetra Pak South Asia
The program will be executed by Earth Recycler, a well-known Waste Management
company based in Chennai. They provide waste management solutions and services to
corporate organizations, educational institutions, residential apartments, urban local
bodies and to the general community at large.
“As an organization, our mission is to ensure that everything that can be recycled, gets
recycled, and not even the smallest fraction of waste gets diverted to a landfill. We are
pleased to be kicking-off this collection program for used beverage cartons because this
is one category of waste whose immense recycling potential is not fully realised yet.
Through this project we will be able to collect these cartons, in turn helping augment the
income of waste trade while also creating a circular economy,” adds Mohammed Dawood,
Founder, Earth Recycler

Tetra Pak cartons are paper-based, recyclable and increasingly being recycled with
support from the ecosystem nurtured by Tetra Pak over the past 18 years, working closely
with various stakeholders including urban local bodies, NGOs, brand-owners, academia
and consumers. Tetra Pak has supported collection of used cartons in Chennai for over 2
years through various programs. One such program called Take Me Back aims to raise
awareness about the recyclability of paper-based Tetra Pak cartons, encouraging them to
deposit their used cartons set up across the city.