WASTE NOT WANT NOT

       Instead of letting mountains of used drink cartons sit and wait for years to be digested naturally in the scrapyard,Tetra Pak (Thailand) Ltd recently started turning them into educational supplies for underprivileged children.cartons from consumers for recycling isn't an easy pattern to establish, especially for the long term. To reduce waste and increase the use of recycling material, Tetra Pak is encouraging consumers to drop off used drink cartons at any Big C branch nationwide or else sell them to recycling shops.
       In 2000, the recycling network was introduced into 134 schools in Bangkok before expanding into communities and the rubbish recycling industry. In communities, housewives have been encouraged to produce material resembling paper with pulper made for home use sponsored by the company; and turn it into handicrafts. Of the millions of used cartons, allied factories have been producing green boards that can be turned into objects such as furniture and stationery.
       The better the condition of the used cartons, the better the quality of the recycled materials. Therefore, the cartons should be cleaned before being kept and dropped off at one of the provided depository boxes.
       Gloyta Nathalang, communications director of Tetra Pak, says the company has been very careful about the recycling campaign. Since it aims to slow down global warming, says Ms Gloyta:"We don't want to add more waste to the world."
       Her team asked consumers to minimise the waste that may be produced during the cleaning process. Water from previous washing procedures can be used to clean the cartons instead of using clean tap water.Consumers are urged to drop off their used cartons in large amounts; if no dropoff box is provided in their community,consumers should deposit them whenever they come into town and have access to one there.
       The used cartons can be recycled in two different ways: Whole cartons can be shredded and compressed to make panel boards, or they can be separated from the paper material to make various re-pulp paper products such as notebooks. Plastic and aluminium foil can be moulded as panel boards or green boards.
       Last year, the company joined with 30 Young Jaew of Channel 3 for the "Jaew Saves Earth" campaign, which calls for the donation of used drink cartons by environmentally aware consumers. About 21 million cartons, or 208 tonnes, of drink cartons were collected during the six-month project. The amount could not only be translated into a reduction of 188 tonnes of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere, but it also produced a countless number of educational tools for Border Patrol Police Schools nationwide.
       About 20 used cartons can be turned into one paper notebook;2,000 used cartons can be turned into a set of classroom desks and chairs. A mountain of rubbish was turned into 416,000 school notebooks and 6,240 sets of classroom desks and chairs.Another 27 Green Library sets were also produced.
       The company is making good progress.Compared with other countries in the region, Tetra Pak (Thailand) has shown outstanding statistics about the amount of recycled products made from used cartons.
       Ms Gloyta is hoping that 100% of used cartons get recycled one day. In reality,only 7,750 tonnes of cartons went back into the recycling process. A total of 1,655 tonnes, or 12% of all cartons sold by the company, were dropped off by end-users.Last year there were 12,632 tonnes of cartons reused, while 3,667 tonnes, or 12.5%of all cartons sold, were returned by endusers.
       The company expects the recycling rate to reach 13% by the end of this year and 20% in the near future.
       To achieve the figure as quickly as possible, the company is not only trying to make people aware of the environmental issue, but is also adding more value to the recycled products. For example, the products by green designer Singh Intarachuto were completely made from waste.
       "People will stop thinking why they have to pay more for furniture made from rubbish," says Ms Gloyta.
       So her dream target of recycling 100%of all cartons into products for daily use may be possible.
       How are you helping to reduce your carbon footprint?Share your eco-friendly activities with us by emailing outlook@bangkokpost.co.th with the subject 'green'.