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Greening the planet with discarded Yoghurt cups


A groundbreaking yoghurt cup recycling project spearheaded by Modern Pack Lanka (Pvt) Ltd in partnership with the Centre for Environmental Initiative and several other public and private entities, has the vision to encourage organized players for different categories of plastic waste.

Plastic waste; a mix of different types -CAN NOT be RECYCLED together.
A lesser known fact indeed!

Although plastic waste is often segregated from biodegradable material, recycling mixed plastics of individual types- Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET), High Density Polyethylene (HDPE), Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC), Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE), Polypropylene (PP) and Polystyrene (PS) is still a challenge. Hence, proper collection and disposal of items of such varied types is a prerequisite in tackling the issue of plastic waste.

This insightful piece of information came to light during a one-on one chat BizScribe had with Lahiru Wijerathna- General Manager - Modern Pack Lanka (Pvt) Ltd on the company’s groundbreaking recycling project launched to establish an efficient collection arm for discarded yoghurt cups that would in turn be processed into seed farming trays.

Rallying around this unique initiative introduced by the Modern Pack Lanka as a part of its commitment to environmental sustainability are the Central Environmental Initiative of the University of Colombo and several other public and private sector entities.

“The effort right now is to establish an effective collection arm for yoghurt cups. This done, we could take the project to the next level. Our end objective is to address the gap created due to the absence of organised players who could take care of different categories of plastic waste similar to the way we take care of yoghurt cups,” Lahiru explains.  

 A leading player in the plastic extrusion and thermo/vacuum forming business; both in the local and export market  for the past 25 years, Modern Pack Lanka’s business operations is guided by its commitment to environmental sustainability.  The Yoghurt cup recycling programme - Sri Lanka’s first of its kind- is one among a series of green development efforts conducted and supported by the company under the guidance of the two founders - Ms. Shea Wickramasinghe (Managing Director Modern Pack Lanka) and Nishka Wickramasinghe (Director Modern Pack Lanka) together with Sunil Costa (CEO/Director Modern Pack Lanka), says Lahiru who conceptualized the project.
“We are unable to reject plastic 100% until we find a better alternative. So we have to recycle.  Asking the people merely to stop plastic pollution will not be effective if we are not giving them a solution. Biodegradable plastic is very costly. Even biodegradable plastic when mixed with normal plastics is not recyclable.  When we say stop plastic pollution- the options available would be either to stop plastic or stop pollution. But since we are unable to stop plastic completely; immediately, the next best option would be to ensure that the discarded waste is properly managed to prevent pollution,” he adds.

The pilot project will see the setting up of yoghurt cup collection hubs at universities and schools within Colombo with student communities expected to act as change agents in spreading the message across far and wide.  Running parallel to the project will also be a public awareness campaign having a holistic approach towards best practices in waste management and environmental sustainability. For example; it is very rarely that one would wash the yoghurt cups after consuming before it’s thrown into the bin.  Doing so would require only a little water as opposed to the quantity of water plus the chemicals used at the point of cleaning the items for recycling.  These are some of the areas that public needs to be mindful of, Lahiru emphasizes.
The collected cups will be processed in an environmental friendly manner to manufacture seed planting trays that are reusable up to 10 years and will be sold to farmers at a concessionary rate.

Why seed farming trays in particular?
On to this, Lahiru offers an interesting perspective.
The process of manufacturing plastic yoghurt cups will inevitably emit a certain amount of Carbon dioxide to the environment. However, the recycled nursery trays having the capacity to grow at least 60 plants on each, will give birth to thousands of new plants that will in turn collectively absorb the Carbon dioxide emitted during the manufacturing process, he outlines.
Linked to the recycling project are various other far reaching benefits.  The new eco system likely to emerge through this project will have the potential to generate more ‘green jobs’ with many other value chain actors wanting to contribute to the process, Lahiru says adding that possibility of introducing it as a cottage industry at the village Co-operative level to empower rural females will also be looked at, later on.
So mind the yoghurt cups you just throw away, for they can now go a long way.

Comments

  1. UnknownMarch 20, 2020 at 9:07 PM

    I think this project is re use of yogurt cups and not recycle.

    ReplyDelete

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