From Cartons to Creatures: Mumbai Brings Recycling to Life on World Environment Day

To mark World Environment Day 2026, Go Green with Tetra Pak - an initiative by Tetra Pak India in collaboration with RUR Greenlife, Reliance Smart, and Sahakari Bhandar - has partnered with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to launch a first-of-its-kind citywide awareness campaign at Veer Baji Prabhu Udyan, Dadar. 

Inauguration of the pathway and Cartons to Creatures initiative

The launch event was attended by Mr. Yogesh Desai, Assistant Commissioner, G North Ward, who inaugurated the initiative. At the heart of the activation is an innovative pathway developed using paver tiles made from polymer-aluminium (polyal) - a material recovered from used beverage cartons - replacing a conventional concrete surface. These tiles showcase how the polymer-aluminium layer of cartons can be repurposed into a lightweight, weather-resistant, and durable infrastructure solution. 

The initiative also featured the unveiling of “Cartons to Creatures,” a series of large-scale interactive animal installations that highlight the power of recycling. Aligning with the 2026 World Environment Day theme -Inspired by Nature. For Climate. For Our Future - the Cartons to Creatures installation features life-sized animals designed as playful, immersive photo opportunities. Constructed entirely from recycled aseptic cartons, the installations will demonstrate how everyday waste can be transformed into creative and durable products. By placing the exhibits in high-footfall public spaces, the initiative seeks to spark conversations around sustainability and encourage greater participation in carton recycling across Mumbai.

Commenting on the initiative, Mr. Yogesh Desai, Assistant Commissioner, G North Ward, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation said “Mumbai has always led from the front in building an environmentally progressive city, and initiatives like this demonstrate what strong public-private collaboration can achieve. The innovative pathway made using paver tiles recovered from used beverage cartons is a powerful example of how everyday waste can be transformed into durable, real-world infrastructure. At the same time, installations like ‘Cartons to Creatures’ play an important role in making this idea visible and engaging for citizens. When people see recycled materials not just under their feet, but also brought to life in their neighbourhood parks, it changes how they perceive waste and its potential. The BMC is proud to support this initiative and we encourage every Mumbaikar to participate, because a sustainable Mumbai is not built by policy alone, but by collective action.”

Mr. Kiran Singh Patil, Assistant Engineer, Solid Waste Management Department, G North Ward, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, said, "Effective waste management goes beyond collection and processing, it requires citizens to understand the value of the materials they discard every day. Initiatives such as this help bridge that gap by demonstrating how used beverage cartons can be transformed into useful and durable products. We hope these efforts encourage more citizens to segregate waste responsibly and participate actively in Mumbai’s growing recycling ecosystem."

"At Tetra Pak, we believe that sustainability becomes most powerful when it moves beyond concepts and becomes something people can experience in their everyday lives. By bringing these installations into public spaces, we hope to inspire citizens to see recycling not as a separate activity, but as a simple action that contributes to a larger circular economy. Every carton recycled is an opportunity to conserve resources, reduce waste, and create a more sustainable future for our cities” added Kamlesh Kholiya, Sustainability Manager, Tetra Pak India.

Accompanying the animal installations will be the larger-than-life Carton Recycling Relay collection bin, first introduced during World Environment Day campaign in 2025, giving visitors an immediate opportunity to act on the inspiration they encounter.

The campaign is being run by RUR Greenlife, Tetra Pak's long-standing recycling partner in Mumbai, and has been implemented in close coordination with the Solid Waste Management Department and Garden Department of G North Ward, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation.

Volunteers from RUR will be present at the installations to engage with visitors, share information about carton recycling, and encourage participation in the Go Green with Tetra Pak programme. The initiative will highlight Mumbai's growing carton recycling ecosystem. Citizens can decide to recycle their used beverage cartons through more than 50 collection points located across Reliance Smart and Sahakari Bhandar stores, along with over 200 other collection points across the city.

Launched in 2010, the Go Green with Tetra Pak Programme has encouraged thousands of Mumbaikars to recycle used beverage cartons by providing convenient collection infrastructure and demonstrating the value of recycled materials through community-focused projects. Over the years, collected cartons have been transformed into useful products such as school desks, garden benches, and awareness installations that are donated back to society.

As the Cartons to Creatures installations travel across Mumbai over the coming weeks, the initiative aims to inspire citizens to take simple but meaningful steps towards sustainability, showing how everyday actions can help protect nature, support climate action, and create a better future for all.

About Tetra Pak
Tetra Pak is a world leading food processing and packaging solutions company. Working with our customers and suppliers, we provide access to safe, nutritious food for hundreds of millions of people in more than 160 countries every day.

With over 24,000 employees worldwide, we commit to making food safe and available, everywhere, and we promise to protect what’s good: food, people and the planet.

More information about Tetra Pak is available at www.tetrapak.com