Udaipur is a tourist destination and therefore, sees a lot of carton consumption. At the same time, it is also ranked first in Rajasthan under the Swachch Sarvekshan 2020 for cities with under 10,000,00 residents. Tetra Pak and Finish Society will therefore focus on raising awareness among the waste-picker community, about the value they can derive from collecting used beverage cartons and selling them to a recycler.

At the same time, the initiative will also raise awareness among consumers about the positive impact of waste-segregation and recycling on the cleanliness of their surroundings, as well as on the environment at large. The used cartons collected through this initiative will be sent to the nearest recycler, Khatema Fibres, a local paper mill based in Uttarakhand, and a recycling partner for Tetra Pak since 2013.

Jaideep Gokhale, sustainability director, Tetra Pak South Asia, said, “Tetra Pak cartons are paper-based, recyclable and have the lowest carbon footprint among all other packaging materials used for similar food products. So, when we choose carton packaging, we are already making a positive choice. And when we segregate used cartons from our waste, we ensure that waste pickers earn an additional livelihood, and the used cartons get recycled into many useful items like benches, desks, bins, roofing sheets and more. Over the past 17 years, we have been able to expand our collection and recycling ecosystem across the country and today, over 40% cartons sold in India are recycled. We had been looking for a suitable partner to work with in Rajasthan and we have found that in Finish society. Together, we look forward to helping build a Swachh Udaipur.”

“The need of the hour is to recover all recyclable waste and convert it into a resource. We will work on raising awareness about recyclability of these packages on one hand, as well as set up ‘drop-off points’ at registered shops, juice centres and other easily accessible locations where consumers can deposit their used cartons easily. But the key focus of our work will be on educating the waste-picker community about the value of carton waste and the role it can play in augmenting their household income. We are thankful to Tetra Pak for leading from the front, and also the Municipal Corporation of Udaipur for their continued support,” said Saurabh Agnihotri of Finish Society.