As part of a joint project, Valio and Tetra Pak are launching a program for separate collection of recyclable materials in Saint Petersburg and the Leningrad region. The first ten waste collection points appeared in the town of Sertolovo near Saint Petersburg in early March. During the spring, ten more points will be installed in the Primorsky, Vyborgsky and Admiralteisky districts of Saint Petersburg.

Each point has containers for the five most popular fractions: glass, paper and cardboard, rigid PET, HDPE and PP plastic, as well as Tetra Pak multi-layer beverage cartons and their equivalents. The collected waste is removed weekly by a waste management operator Tochka Sbora to local processing enterprises for additional sorting, pressing and sending of fractions to recycling.

Yelena Kipeneva, CEO of Valio in Russia: “Our joint project with Tetra Pak is an important step of Valio's sustainable development strategy in Russia. Taking care of the environment is an important vector for our company. We’ve begun to install separate waste collection points in Saint Petersburg, as the company's history is inextricably linked with this city. By developing local infrastructure, we hope to promote a culture of recycling. We have no doubts that the program will be well-received by local residents.”

Promotion of waste packaging recycling is a strategic aspect for Tetra Pak as well.

Yekaterina Volkova, communications director of Tetra Pak in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Central Asia, the Caucasus and Eastern Europe: “Today there are five companies, able to recycle components of Tetra Pak packaging and its analogues in Russia. The existing facilities can accept all the waste of such packaging collected and available for recycling in the country. Promotion of a culture of separate waste collection and sorting is an important task for us with Valio within the framework of this project, because the more packaging is sent for sorting, the better it develops recycling. Such projects also raise awareness among the population and build communication with local residents, i.e. make separate waste collection clear and convenient.”