3.07 Million Recycled in Three Years as Shanghai's Milk Carton Recycling Green Campaign Goes National

At this year's Flower Expo, the "Shanghai's longest flower-viewing bench," with a total length of 156 metres and a single-side length of 78 metres, became an internet sensation, drawing many visiting citizens to take photos.

This bench is made from recycled milk cartons. The whole bench used 5.027 million recycled Tetra Pak packages, consuming a full 52 tonnes of milk cartons; it is the largest recycled milk carton environmental protection bench in the country.

In fact, this is a microcosm of the results of Shanghai's milk carton recycling. Since 2019, with the support of the Greening and City Appearance Administration, Bright Dairy has launched a citywide green campaign to recycle milk cartons.

The 5th, 15th and 25th of each month were designated "Milk Carton Recycling Day." Citizens who collect 10 milk cartons of any brand can exchange them free of charge for a portion of Bright Dairy's "Youbei" fresh milk provided through Suixinding.

At the end of 2019, the milk carton recycling campaign entered 2,015 community points in Shanghai, achieving full coverage of all districts in Shanghai, having carried out more than 23,000 events cumulatively and exchanged more than 1.23 million milk cartons. Later, affected by the pandemic, Shanghai suspended the milk carton recycling campaign in 2020.

On June 5, 2020, Bright Dairy restarted the milk carton recycling campaign, first piloting in five cities—Hangzhou, Nanjing, Suzhou, Jinan and Beijing—before gradually extending nationwide. By the end of 2020, the milk carton recycling campaign had entered 3,005 communities in 34 cities across the country. That year it carried out more than 36,000 events cumulatively and recycled more than 620,000 milk cartons.

In 2021, with pandemic prevention becoming routine, in order to better convey the power of green environmental protection, Bright Dairy launched an upgraded milk carton recycling campaign, optimizing the exchange process and enriching the exchange content, taking the lead in piloting the "era of milk carton recycling 2.0" in the Shanghai area. First, it broadened milk carton recycling channels, upgraded specifically into three methods: appointment-based door-to-door collection by milk delivery staff, collection via milk carton recycling bins, and collection at community recycling points. Second, it upgraded and enriched the exchange products, selecting dozens of classic and practical products under Bright Food Group for citizens to exchange according to their needs.

From the beginning of 2021 to September 15, over a full three years the milk carton recycling campaign has covered 3,493 communities in 72 cities nationwide, carried out more than 29,000 events cumulatively, and recycled more than 1.22 million milk cartons. Over three years the country has cumulatively recycled more than 3.07 million milk cartons.

Through comparative analysis of the data, Shanghai, as a "model" city for waste sorting pilots, has the strongest public awareness of waste sorting, the largest number of milk cartons recycled and the most active participation in recycling campaigns.

Experts point out that Bright Dairy has successfully replicated and promoted the Shanghai model and Shanghai experience to other pilot cities nationwide, playing a demonstrative and leading role and helping more and more citizens establish and cultivate the awareness and habit of waste sorting. Since the milk carton recycling campaign was launched it has cumulatively saved nearly 20 tonnes of paper and 100 tonnes of wood, protecting 142 large trees.

It is reported that the milk carton recycling campaign will be carried out unswervingly and built into a public welfare brand project, with plans to cover 4,000 communities nationwide this year. At the same time, Bright Dairy will consider exchange models that better meet pandemic prevention requirements, are more convenient and faster, and better suit citizens' needs, continuously improving the effectiveness of the milk carton recycling campaign.

Bright Dairy is actively exploring follow-up work on milk carton recycling, and will also open display corners or theme parks for milk carton environmentally friendly recycled products and donate milk carton environmentally friendly recycled products, using the power of green to jointly welcome a bright and environmentally friendly future.

——This article is reprinted from China Packaging Network (pack.cn). Original link: http://news.pack.cn/show-378316.html