Pack a Punch

Who knew that Tetra Pak cartons used for packaging milk and juice can contribute to the environment? “Your Cartons,My Classroom”,an initiative promoted by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) and Tetra Pak,encouraged school students from across the country to collect over two lakh Tetra Pak cartons under Project SEARCH,which would be recycled and reused to create various items such as roof sheets,benches,papers,and pens for under-privileged students. Since the cartons are made primarily of paper,these need to be segregated for recycling.

Actor Kalki Koechilin and Sir Robert Swan,the first person to have walked to the North and South poles,attended the two-day event at DLF Saket mall. “I’m impressed with the recycled material made from used Tetra Pak cartons. Surprisingly,roof sheets,benches and other stationary material are solid and durable,” said Koechilin.

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Swan has visited landfills and studied the paper waste stream in India. He said it was important to educate people that Tetra Pak cartons are 100 per cent recyclable. Swan has been doing his bit to save the environment. He is the founder of 2041,an organisation that works towards saving Antarctica. He was on a 10-year mission at the second World Summit in 2002 to inspire youth to become sustainable leaders.

The enthusiasm of the students was visible as they were cheering for each other. There were performances themed around sustainability and waste management. Various art and craft activities lured not only the children present,but also those who came visiting the mall with their parents. Electro-folk music artist Hari and Sukhmani also performed at the event.