Schools commend Ribena-Tetra Pak Recycle Campaign

The Ribena-Tetra Pak joint recycle project tagged “Drink it, Flatten it & Bin it” campaign has continued to receive commendations from educators in Lagos State. The recycling project which kicked off recently has rapidly reached a high level of acceptance with both pupils and their teachers because of the practical lessons that the project brings to fore.

Mrs. Ogundipe Love, who is the Head Teacher of Dansol Nursery and Primary School – one of the schools participating in the project, said, “the Ribena-Tetra Pak ‘Drink it, Flatten it & Bin it’ project is a very laudable campaign because in Nigeria, we lack the culture of recycling where everything we use, we just throw away even when we can still make something useful from it. The project brings home the lessons of recycling to the children in a very practical way. For example, the project, since it was launched in the school, has helped the children to be more conscious of the environment.”

The creativity that the project has encouraged in the children is a major part of learning in the opinion of Mrs Edith Ikwor, who is the Head Teacher of Tender Stars School. She said, “the Ribena-Tetra Pak ‘Drink it, Flatten it & Bin it’ is more than just a recycling project as it is helping to stimulate the creativity in our pupils. Children are always excited about any opportunity to learn new things, exercise their minds and express themselves and I think that this project touches on all. The project teaches vital lessons about the environment and gives them freedom to express themselves creatively through the art and craft exhibition. It has really added value to the school”.

In capturing the impact of the project on the pupils of Vicsum Schools, Mrs M. O. Soyemi, said, “the children are very excited about the Ribena-Tetra Pak ‘Drink it, Flatten it & Bin it’ program. They are really looking forward to flattening and binning as many packs as possible. They are also working on ideas for the art and craft aspect of the project. it is our joy to be part of a program that is having such positive impact on the future generation”.

The Brand Manager of Ribena, Mr. Olawale Akanbi shades more light on the objective of project by saying, “The ‘drink it flatten it and bin it’ Campaign is of considerable significance to both GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Nig. Plc and Tetra Pak (West Africa) Limited, as corporate organisations. We are looking beyond today. We are focusing on the future. We see the present young generation becoming more environment conscious. We see them growing to be responsible adults based on the lessons that this recycling campaign will teach them. If campaigns such as these had been undertaken in the past, we wouldn’t be where we are today. So, we are excited about doing this and we are also excited about the long term impact it will have on our environment and the larger society.”

Twenty schools are participating in the Ribena-Tetra Pak ”Drink it, Flatten it & Bin it“ Recycling Campaign which is a pilot project executed only in Lagos State. Pupils of the schools are expected to flatten and bin their Ribena packs after drinking the content, in special branded bins that have been stationed in all the school. Only the 150ml, 288ml and one litre pack sizes of Ribena, all in Tetra Pak carton packs are being collected in the campaign. All the collected packs will be recycled into furniture which will be donated to less privileged schools in the Dust Bin Estate in Ajegule, Lagos.