In the words of Tetra Pak founder Ruben Rausing in the 1950s, "A package should save more than it costs." But did he foresee a mounting pile of non-bio-degradable waste of his revolutionary lifesaver of a material that no one wanted to take back, imposing a huge ecological cost? Only as recently as end-2007 did the world hear of Tetra Pak's global commitment of 25% recycling rate for its discarded cartons by 2008. For a material shunned by ragpickers and recyclers, it is seeing takers in Delhi and Ahmedabad of late.
In a stint with a project, product designer Suren Vikhash U reached Hoskote landfills, where tonnes of Tetra Pak waste lay doomed for 60 years of its life span. "A few reluctant recyclers from Madurai and Chennai were ready to buy the waste for Rs2 a tonne where the storage cost for them was Rs10 per kg," says Vikhash. That's where his diploma project in Shrishti School of Design took seed. He decided to upcycle the material by creating products with it, thereby increasing its life, a project that won him the PanIIT Award for Innovation 2008
Now, in the midst of registering the company, Thunk — with other members including textile designer Ayesha, fashion designer Ronkson, Helen G of Waste Management and Solutions, and Manisha Kairaly — the company already has a line-up of low- and high-end products ready to be tossed into the market by April 22.
The project is exploring ways of processing, weaving and productualising materials like Tetra Pak packets, polythene bags and natural waste like Areca, Lantana and coconut husk, that is otherwise burnt.
Versatile as the material is — it being strong, durable, pliable and waterproof — it has led to a host of weaves and trendy products, from pencil holders to CD cases to wallets to bags to jackets to lampshades. While some products have the silver side out, others a chequered weave of the Nandini logo and silver streaks, there are those that have your favourite grapefruit brand staring right at you. Vikhash says some like to be constantly reminded of the way they consume. "Unfortunately, most green products are expensive, but if we make prices competitive, people will definitely go for it," he says.
The real challenge to their approach is sourcing the material and for that Vikhash has his network of people at places like UB City, ITPL, Shobha Developers, Café Mochas and Java City, who segregate the Tetra Paks from the rest of the organic waste. "Ten slum women come to Hoskote everyday, where we teach them to clean, cut, weave and tailor the material," he says. Thunk has also collaborated with graduates from IIT Chennai and Anna University to carry on similar work in Tamil Nadu.
The team also intends to get Tetra Pak to share "the secret of joining two Tetra Paks, as we are looking to use them to make tenting structures for slums". "We are trying to compete with plastic in terms of cost and space," says Vikhash. They are also in talks with Nandini, makers of Real and Tropicana juices. "If the firms that use Tetra Pak fund us, we can give them the products back as corporate gifts," he says.
