For 23-year-old Stephi K, a resident of the Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board tenements in Perumbakkam, last month signifies a high point. With an earning of ₹ 8,000 — her fattest pay packet so far — she met some outstanding expenses, paid the house rent and with what was left, bought provisions for her family.
She is one of 12 constituting a women’s self-help group in Perumbakkam that has been selected to work on a sustainability project initiated by Tetra Pak, in association with Chennai-based social venture Wasted 360 Solutions. Being in this exercise, she is assured of a monthly salary for the next one year.
In return, she and her team would send cleaned beverage cartons, collected from across Chennai, to a recycler in Maharashtra. These cartons would be processed before being turned into utility products.
The women are beneficiaries of Arpanam Trust, a three-decade-old non-profit housed at Sacred Heart School Church Park.
At the “Take Me Back” campaign, launched in Chennai in December, these women learnt about waste segregation, the advantages of recycling beverage cartons, weighing the raw materials and taking a brand audit of the materials that come to their centre at Perumbakkam.
“We work with 26 SHG women in Perumbakkam and also have a dedicated space where we offer them skill development programmes in tailoring and the making of products like candles, jute bags, soaps and condiments,” says Sister Sagayam, director, Arpanam Trust.
The pandemic disrupted the livelihoods of many families. Besides making and selling masks, they had little work coming their way.
“Marketing is necessary. These products will not get sold, unless companies are made aware of them,” says the director, adding that it is the first time a project has come along, assuring women of a fixed income.
Ann Anra, founder, Wasted 360 Solutions, says alcohol addiction is a major issue in the slum board tenements so this project was aimed to help women become breadwinners.
“Of the 12 women deployed for the project, six have been hired on a full-time basis and the rest would work on a part-time basis,” says Ann.
The campaign
The recycling initiative requires residents to first segregate waste at source. The used beverage cartons need to be rinsed, dried and flattened and later dropped in any of the 20 collections points in Chennai. Or, one can avail a free pick-up from Dunzo if the cartons number above 50.
Besides communities, the campaign also targets schools and colleges, asking them to collect tetra packs.
“The larger aim of the campaign is to create awareness among consumers that if they throw a tetra pack carton then they are wasting the raw material,” says Ann.
We expect to collect 2,000 kilos of beverage cartons a month and work on the project will begin in March, she says.
In Mumbai, Tetra Pak has been running this campaign for many years with children playing a key role in it. The processed cartons have morphed into furniture, stationery and other utility products that are placed in communities that need them the most.
For details about drop points, visit www.takemeback campaign.com
