Delegates launch a programme on classifying, segregating and recycling used cartons, called School Recycling, in 800 primary schools and kindergartens in Ha Noi on Saturday. — VNS Photo Thanh Hai

Swedish food processing and packaging solutions provider Tetra Pak launched a programme on classifying, segregating and recycling used cartons, called School Recycling, in 800 primary schools and kindergartens in Ha Noi on Saturday.

Ha Noi, after HCM City, is the second city in Viet Nam in which the programme will be implemented, bringing the total schools taking part in the programme to 1,400 in 2019. The company also has a plan to expand the initiative in Da Nang and Binh Duong cities in 2020.

Speaking at the event, Swedish Ambassador to Viet Nam Ann Mawe called on students, people and the community to recycle waste, including used cartons, in efforts to reduce waste in Viet Nam.

“Burying waste in landfills was not only environmentally bad but economically illogical. Landfills in big cities like Ha Noi and HCM City are already at maximum capacity in handling waste. In order to face this challenge, we have to use waste wisely, as a source as much as possible,” said Mawe.

The programme aims to not only segregate and collect used cartons at primary schools but also to instill good habits of carton recycling at the household level, giving a new life to used cartons.

Participating in the programme, students will be instructed on how to unfold four corners of used cartons, flattening and placing them into dustbins for collection. The used cartons are collected once every two weeks by Lagom Company and transported to the Dong Tien paper factory to be made into useful products such as notebooks and bio-roof panels.

Sustainability is among core priorities across Tetra Pak’s value chain. From sourcing materials, the company collaborates with Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) to ensure that all paperboard for cartons comes from renewable forests that are managed responsibly.

In Viet Nam, nearly 100 per cent of Tetra Pak’s cartons are made from FSC certified paper. Tetra Pak’s newly-inaugurated manufacturing hub in Binh Duong is among Viet Nam’s first factories to apply the latest, most-demanding environmental standards set by the globally-recognised LEED certification which enables up to 36 per cent reduction of energy and over 21 million litres of water reused a year.

Tetra Pak also sets a goal to produce a package made entirely from plant-based packaging materials by 2022 and no cartons to end up as litter or in landfills. — VNS