Go Green With 'Carton Recycling Relay' In Mumbai Ahead Of World Environment Day

To mark World Environment Day, the Go Green with Tetra Pak programme -an initiative by Tetra Pak India in association with RUR Greenlife, The Free Press Journal, Sahakari Bhandar, and Reliance Smart -launched a citywide sustainability campaign called the Carton Recycling Relay today at The Free Press House. The campaign is focused on encouraging Mumbaikars to recycle used beverage cartons, turning them into useful public furniture like benches.

The highlight of the initiative is a life-sized, carton-shaped recycling bin that will travel across Mumbai throughout the year. The goal is to inspire individuals, schools, corporates, and institutions to collect and deposit used cartons for recycling. In the first phase, the campaign aims to gather 2.5 lakh used cartons. These will be recycled into 25 sturdy garden benches that will be installed in public parks across the city.

The relay bin was officially launched by Mr. Shailesh Haribhakti at the Free Press Journal (FPJ) premises, symbolising the start of this unique journey. This campaign not only promotes recycling but also showcases the power of community participation and circular economy in action.

Mr. Shailesh explained how we as citizens become negligent to the waste management and think we're contributing to the green initiative by just disposing off the waste from our house. "It needs to be taught at home, from a very young age that waste management is a vital process for the well-being of the nature," he said.

He cited Japan as an example to explain how responsible citizens separate the wet, dry waste and how it comes naturally to them. He mentioned that Japan has no waste bins in public. "People in Japan utilise their personal bins to dispose off waste and take care of their surroundings. That waste is then used to create energy.

A Vision

The Go Green with Tetra Pak initiative has been active in Mumbai since 2010. Over the years, it has helped raise awareness about the importance of recycling Tetra Pak cartons. In partnership with Tetra Pak India, the program has collected more than 20 million cartons. These efforts have led to the donation of over 1,000 school desks and 500 garden benches, benefiting under-resourced schools and communities across the city.

Tetra Pak cartons are made primarily from paper and are fully recyclable. Recycling them is easy: just cut, rinse, flatten, and stack the cartons before dropping them off at collection points. These include over 60 public centers at Sahakari Bhandar stores and more than 100 additional drop-off spots in schools, churches, and housing societies.

Through the Go Green program and the Cartons to Classroom campaign, approximately 10,500 cartons are transformed into one school desk. This initiative not only protects the environment but also supports education and community development-turning everyday waste into something truly valuable.