Tetra Pak teams up with more partners to encourage greater public participation in collecting used beverage cartons for recycling into construction materials to help natural disaster victims with “The Green Shelter Project for Friends in Need (of “Pa”) Volunteers Foundation”
Almost everything humans do creates waste, and the growing amount of it does represent a problem we are concerned about. But there is another way of thinking about waste — not necessarily as a problem, but as an opportunity. Waste can be our most valuable resource which is simply out of place for the time being. If we refocus our thinking on circularity, then we can keep materials, substances and by-products in the economy creating new value.
It was precisely the mindset which Tetra Pak, a world-leading processing and packaging solutions company, had when launching “The Green Shelter Project for Friends in Need (of “Pa”) Volunteers Foundation.” This initiative continues the success of the Green Roof Project in encouraging the collection of used beverage carton and recycling them to create new construction materials that help build homes for the victims of natural disasters.
Over the past 12 years the Green Roof Project has collected over 2,500 tonnes of used beverage cartons and recycled them into over 68,000 roofing sheets for donation to communities affected by natural disasters. The Green Shelter Project for Friends in Need (of “Pa”) Volunteers Foundation will build on this success and leverage the potential for cooperation to create new products out of used beverage cartons, expand the collection network to obtain more used beverage cartons, and distribute more recycled products to aid people in the community.
“Having good partners is key to success. This project became possible only because of the support from our partners. And now a more expansive network of organisations from different sectors will take our efforts to the next level,” says Mr. Patinya Silsupadol, Head of Sustainability of Tetra Pak (Thailand) Limited. “Now we have more access to convenient drop-off stations, so we can expect higher collection volumes. Besides roofing sheets, our recycling partners are able to recycle used beverage cartons — including paperboard, plastic, and aluminium foil — into new construction materials such as eco board, eco brick, and door frames. In this way, we can build entire houses for natural disaster victims and people in need.”
With a total of 14 major partners and endorsers, The Green Shelter Project is a unique collaborative initiative. Key partners include Friends in Need (of “Pa”) Volunteers Foundation, Thai Red Cross Society, BJC Big C, 360 Degree Entertainment (TV 360 News), Department of Environmental Quality Promotion under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Central Pattana PCL, Bangchak Corporation PCL, BEC World PCL, Fiber Pattana Company Limited, Eco-Friendly Thai Company Limited, Recycoex Company Limited, Advanced Mat Company Limited, and M.B.J. Enterprise Company Limited.
In addition, Mr. Patinya stresses the importance of systematic recycling: “One of the main objectives of this project is to promote carton waste management in a correct and systematic manner. This requires everyone’s participation — from how consumers handle the cartons to the logistics and effective distribution of waste in order to ultimately achieve a sustainable low-carbon circular economy and reduce carbon dioxide emissions. We’re proud that Tetra Pak is among those who lead sustainable changes in waste management throughout its value chain.”
The Green Shelter Project is one of the company’s key sustainability initiatives, but Mr. Patinya says that raising public awareness is equally important: “We want everyone in society to know that beverage cartons can be recycled. They are not just waste left after consumption. It is a valuable resource which can be recycled to create things that help people in local communities and the planet. We want to raise public awareness about the recyclability of beverage cartons with the hope of encouraging action that will further help develop effective waste management. The project should inspire people to contribute to the recycling effort at large. Messages on the Green Shelter Facebook page demonstrate that there is a strong, highly active and enthusiastic community supporting the project, they are leaders of families, schools or temples. It’s incredibly inspiring.”
He concludes on an optimistic note: “Changing behaviours is hard but we must start somewhere. This single project might have a limited impact on its own, but we take pride in sparking a change in beverage carton recycling that can have extensive repercussions.”
The project will run from September 1, 2022, to August 31, 2025. Thanks to the growing network of partners, everyone who would like to donate used beverage cartons to the project can do so at drop-off stations (on Google Map: https://goo.gl/maps/tFnrVMhFqS2NgAt39) at over 150 Big C Super Centers nationwide and 10 Mini Big C Supermarkets in Bangchak gas stations in Bangkok, as well as 18 piloting Central department stores and affiliated office buildings across the country.
Check out the project’s website at www.tetrapak.com/en-th/sustainability/planet/thaigreenshelter or visit us at www.facebook.com/ThaiGreenShelter/