Tetra Pak draws BLACKPINK fans to recycling mission in Goyang

Julian Quintart, right, a Belgian-born media personality, leads a recycling quiz on aseptic cartons and educates K-pop fans on proper recycling methods at Tetra Pak’s sustainability booth, hours before BLACKPINK’s concert at Goyang Stadium, Sunday. Courtesy of Tetra Pak Korea

Tetra Pak Korea, a food and beverage packaging company, promoted its recyclable water cartons to BLACKPINK fans gathered for the group's concert on the weekend to raise awareness about the need to host K-pop events more sustainably by reducing waste and environmental impact.

Approximately 80,000 aseptic water cartons were prepared for visitors at Goyang Stadium in Gyeonggi Province, where the K-pop girl group held its concert on Saturday and Sunday. Tetra Pak Korea set up a special booth outside the venue to promote the initiative.

Over the two days, Tetra Pak Korea collected discarded cartons for recycling, placing eight bins outside the stadium and 13 inside to encourage proper disposal.

“Our initiative came as YG Entertainment was searching for a concert-related product idea that has both sustainable value and design strength for its artists," a Tetra Pak Korea official said, referring to the band's managing company.

"YG and our company agreed to use the carton we made because its packaging material makes it easy to apply design and can be effectively recycled.”

According to the company, the aseptic cartons are made entirely from pulp sourced from trees certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, ensuring they can be recycled into products such as whiteboard paper, tissues and toilet paper. Aseptic carton packaging takes place in a completely sterilized, bacteria-free environment.

The cartons feature a six-layer structure — comprising paper, aluminum foil and polyethylene — that provides effective insulation, protecting contents from oxygen, bacteria, sunlight and humidity.

When packaging milk in cartons, the package uses only 5 percent of the product's total weight, much lower than glass bottles, which are about 40 percent of total shipping weight. This lightweight design reduces carbon emissions during transportation, Tetra Pak Korea said.

A visitor to Tetra Pak Korea’s booth places flattened aseptic cartons into the company’s recycling bin, Sunday. Courtesy of Tetra Pak Korea

Several hours before the concert began on Sunday, people lined up in front of Tetra Pak Korea’s booth, which was set up inside the Goyang Sports Complex Auxiliary Stadium, adjacent to the main venue. Julian Quintart, a Belgian celebrity active in Korean entertainment and variety shows and appointed in 2023 as the company’s ambassador for its aseptic carton recycling initiative, welcomed visitors at the booth.

Each drinking water carton sold for 2,000 won ($1.46). Designed in pink to reflect BLACKPINK’s signature color, the limited-edition water carton marked the first customized aseptic packaging created in collaboration with a K-pop concert, according to Tetra Pak Korea.

Visitors could scan a QR code at the booth to access a website, where they answered a quiz on how aseptic cartons are recycled. High scores were rewarded with a specially designed collection bag for aseptic cartons.

“As K-pop represents an ongoing worldwide culture, we have put in practice a new environmental, social governance principle model here by putting together the entertainment industry with a sustainable packaging method," said Niels Hougaard, president of Tetra Pak Korea.

"Tetra Pak’s sustainable packaging is engaging in diverse strategic partnerships with industries related to cultural content or hospitality business. I hope this initiative can be recognized for its creativity and spread our environmental message more effectively.”

HRM, an environmental services company, partnered with Tetra Pak Korea to collect discarded cartons after the concerts.

“The cartons were so pretty some fans thought they were concert goods and took them home instead of throwing them away. We shouldn’t have made them so pretty,” Quintart said.