Partnerships in Waste Management

With a global platform and international team of experts meeting at one place ICEE was an opportunity for highlighting concerns, showcasing best practices and sharing experiences through special events. One such event was a Sustainable Waste Management workshop. It brought together waste picker NGOs from different cities of India.

It showcased a four-way partnership between Amul (Indian food and dairy company involved in production and distribution of milk and milk products), Daman Ganga Board Mills (Paper mill involved in production of paper products), SEWA (NGO involved in women welfare) and Tetra Pak (a company involved in production of Tetra Pak packaging material used to store perishable foods).

Amul uses Tetra Pak for packaging its products. With support from Amul and the Tetra Pak Company, SEWA, is engaged in collection, sorting and primary processing of onsumed/discarded Tetra Pak packages from about 42 dairy parlours in the city. The waste is segregated, washed and bundled before being sent to the Daman Ganga paper mill for recycling.

The processed material yields paper pulp (about 75%) and balance of aluminum + plastic aggregate (25%). Daman Ganga Mills uses the paper pulp and the plastic + aluminum aggregate is used to manufacture indoor/ interior use furniture and material such as roofing sheets
for the construction industry. Marginalized social sectors are engaged in processing of post-consumer Tetra Pak packages. This offers them livelihood and healthcare facilities. Tetra Pak offers knowledge and support to other organizations in India interested in collecting and recycling post-consumer Tetra Pak packages.

Earlier, all waste was handed over to the municipality garbage pick-up service and all materials thought to be non-recyclable including Tetra Pak-post consumer cartons, were sent to the dumping sites. Through the partnership Tetra Pak has now, ensured that the used cartons are collected and sent for recycling instead of landing up in dump sites. With this initiative

  • Amul which use the cartons for its products is able to manage its waste responsibly
  • SEWA women have a better livelihood option
  • Daman Ganga paper mill get the much sought-after raw material
  • Consumers (over time) are educated about being environmentally-responsible
  • Societies and neighbourhoods are cleaner
  • Government and private partners have jointly taken the responsibility for waste education and recycling

Participants from SEWA and Daman Ganga jointly conducted the workshop in an interactive fashion. The workshop used slide presentations, videos, photographs, and “show and tell” demonstrations to engage the audience. Through the workshop it is hoped that other NGOs will understand how the model is set up, the economics etc and consequently aim to replicate the model in their cities (with some assistance on creating market linkages etc. provided by Tetra Pak).

For more information contact:
Jaideep Gokhale Tetra Pak India Private Limited;

Mayfair Towers, Ground Floor, Wakdewadi,

Shivajinagar, Pune 411 005

Ph: 020 2551 0800 ext 216; Fax: 020 2551 0816

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