‘Nestle a+ aims to recycle 10L milk cartons into desks for schools for underprivileged’
On the occasion of World Recycle Day on March 18, Nestle India’s dairy brand Nestle a+ has joined hands with Tetra Pak to launch a new initiative ‘Cartons to Classroom’. The initiative aims to increase awareness about recycling in India by converting used beverage cartons to create classroom furniture for schools for less-privileged children. The project has been started with support from retail partners Reliance Retail and social enterprise RUR Lifestyle.
According to Mehernosh Malia, Head – Dairy Business, Nestlé India, in this first phase of the initiative in Mumbai, Nestle a+ aims to collect more than 10 lakh cartons and recycle them into composite sheets to make furniture. He adds “Cartons to Classroom is a unique program that goes beyond recycling used milk cartons. Its objective is to upcycle these cartons into desks and chairs for schools.”
Beverage cartons such as the ones made by Tetra Pak are paper-based and recyclable and therefore it becomes an organic choice for the brand for this particular initiative. Sharing the synergies with various stakeholders, he says “Tetra Pak is driving the operations of carton collection, RUR is supporting the recycling of used cartons into desks. Reliance Retail has made this initiative more accessible to all Nestléa+ consumers by providing 54 collection points across Reliance Smart Superstores and Sahakari Bhandar outlets in Mumbai.”
Promoting the initiative & plans ahead
While brands can make various efforts towards a sustainable approach, at the end of the day, the key catalyst in increasing recycling of cartons is the environmentally-conscious consumers. The brand has selected multiple touchpoints to drive consumer awareness for this initiative like program-branded collection centres and multi-touchpoint messaging in the select Smart superstores and Sahakari Bhandars.
This program will also be announced onNestlé a+ milk packaging. Says Malia, “We will be digitally reaching out to over 2 million consumers in Mumbai to encourage their participation. Van-collection drives are also being conducted in different parts of the city for the collection of used cartons.”
While the initiative has been started in Mumbai in the first phase, the brand is looking at scaling this up after gathering learnings from this launch.
Nestle a+ has a robust portfolio with various SKUs including Nourish Milk which undergoes 61 quality checks, Nourish Dahi and special products like Nestle a+ Raita. The brand also caters to the needs of fitness enthusiasts with fat-free and probiotic offerings like Nestlé a+ Slim Milk, Slim Dahi and Actiplus (probiotic) Dahi & Nestlé a+ Greek Yoghurts. Commenting on further innovations and product launches, Malia shares “We are working on strengthening this portfolio with new launches building on our health and wellness journey under our flagship brand of Nestlé a+.”
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