Tetra Pak & Kabadiwala to increase recycling of used carton packs

Citizens in Bhopal can now help recycle their used juice, milk, and other beverage cartons from their homes' comfort due to a collaborative initiative between Tetra Pak and The Kabadiwala. Tetra Pak, a world-leading food processing and packaging solutions company, has tied up with The Kabadiwala, a well-known local waste management venture to increase the collection of used beverage cartons in Bhopal. Consumers who wish to sell their used cartons can do so by booking a pickup through The Kabadiwala app or www.thekabadiwala.com and be paid for their waste in return. The team will also set up 70 deposit points at public places across the city where consumers can drop off their used cartons for recycling. In addition, The Kabadiwala will work closely with the Municipal Corporation of Bhopal to recover used packs of juice or milk from the corporation's sorting centers. All collected cartons will then be sent to the nearest recycler, Khatema Fibers, in Uttarakhand for recycling.

With this new partnership, Madhya Pradesh has become the 23rd state or Union Territory covered by Tetra Pak's extensive collection network. This network covers 39 cities and 14 Indian Army contingents, supported by over 27 collection and awareness partners across 23 states and Union Territories.

The initiative was launched by KVS Choudhary- municipal corporation commissioner Bhopal. Inaugurating the first drop-off box, Shri Choudhary said, "This initiative to promote recycling used carton packages is unique. With the help of 70 drop-off points that are being set up across the city, citizens can now easily deposit their used packs for recycling. This will help reduce the waste pool that would otherwise be created and go a long way in supporting the Swachh Bharat mission. I applaud this initiative and urge the citizens across Bhopal to extend their support to help recycle as many cartons as possible."

Announcing the partnership, Jaideep Gokhale, sustainability director, Tetra Pak South Asia, said, "This partnership is an important milestone in our journey of 17 years over which we have established a collection ecosystem across the country. Madhya Pradesh is a very progressive state when it comes to waste management. We had been looking for a strong partner to help us recover used carton packs efficiently for recycling. The Kabadiwala team is just the right partner for us with their extensive network and unique model that makes it convenient for consumers to actively participate in recycling, while also working closely with waste-workers to recover cartons from other sources."

Tetra Pak cartons are paper-based and recyclable. Once collected, they can be recycled into various materials like paper, waterproof poly-aluminum, or panel boards, which are then turned into useful items like classroom furniture for disadvantaged schools, roofing sheets, notebooks, seats and backrests for commercial vehicles and more.

"We pride ourselves on being a technology-driven company committed to creating a Smart Waste Management System. Our strategy to make this initiative a success is two-fold - to raise awareness among waste-workers to recover more and more carton packs which will help them generate additional income, and to increase citizen awareness about the recyclability of cartons, while also making it easy for them to recycle the cartons by simply downloading The Kabadiwala app, booking a pickup on www.thekabadiwala.com, or walking up to any of the 70 drop-off points across the city. We are grateful to the Municipal Corporation of Bhopal for their unending support and to Tetra Pak for choosing us as the partner on this mission," says Anurag Asati, co-founder-The Kabadiwala.

The Kabadiwala platform helps find and map assets that streamline the collection of post-consumer waste, schedule efficient and cost-effective pickups and connect them with the right recyclers network. Identifying the need for a way to track household waste materials and their productive use in a city, this platform also allows citizens to track their waste once they have handed it over to The Kabadiwala.