Tetra Pak engages students in hands-on recycling experience

Tetra Pak Korea’s Eco-Supporters collect trash at Nanji Hangang Park, June 24. Courtesy of Tetra Pak Korea

Tetra Pak is engaging university students in hands-on recycling to help the potential future leaders realize the significance of preserving nature, according to the global food packaging maker's Korean office, Monday.

The initiative is the key objective of Eco Supporters, a program the company launched in 2022 for undergraduates to adopt eco-friendly practices and promote them. The first batch of Eco Supporters completed their six-week program in May last year, and the program saw the second group's kickoff last May.

Under the company's global campaign "Go Nature, Go Carton" which promotes environmentally sustainable packaging, the students engaged in activities that taught them how their actions contribute to conservation, according to the company.

Participants of the first season completed seven "Earth protection" missions including correctly sorting waste materials, carrying tumblers and conserving water resources. They shared their mission progress and achievement records on social media and visited local zero-waste stores, recycling centers and nearby resource circulation facilities to recycle packaging materials.

The second season, conducted for seven weeks, challenged participants with extra tasks in addition to the daily recycling routine. They sought the 2023 Orchid Light Festival, an environmental culture festival at Nanjido, a landfill-turned-park in western Seoul. In June, the supporters visited Nanji Hangang Park for plogging and afterwards created social media content on Nanjido's ecological value and the correct recycling methods for aseptic cartons.

"By leveraging social media platforms, they aimed to reach a broader audience and spread their environmental messages," said an official from the company.

Nanjido was also the site for the company's outdoor camp program in September last year when 70 selected students picked up garbage around World Cup Park and competed in a quiz event focusing on Nanjido's history and planted trees there. They planted more seedlings at Noeul Park, another city park in the area, and put acorns in soil sacks for the trees to provide nutrients.

"We offer various participatory programs to instill the value of resource circulation in the minds of students and share these experiences with a broader audience," said Grace Oh, regional communications director at Tetra Pak Korea. “We hope students who have participated in Tetra Pak’s program will champion carbon neutrality and environmental protection and spread their positive influence widely.”