A school canteen made almost entirely from used beverage cartons was built with the support of SIG in Thailand. The canteen at Nikom Sang Ton Eang Primary School for 170 children was opened in September 2018. The facility is located near the SIG production site in Rayong, Thailand.
For the project SIG Kasetsart University, the food manufacturer „Ampol Foods“ and the recycling company „Fiber Pattana“. The globally active company, which was founded in Switzerland, and the renowned public university launched a competition to develop a fully functional School canteen from used and recycled beverage cartons.
The procurement of the „building materials“ then turned out to be a challenge. For the construction of the building 1.4 million beverage cartons needed. Fiber Pattana and Ampol Foods were involved in the project. Fiber Pattana supplied the Tiles for the roof and panels for the walls. They were mainly made from aluminium and polymers - obtained from used cardboard packaging, which was mainly collected in schools.
Recycling initiative is part of the sustainable corporate strategy
The plates for Tables and chairs were also made from emptied cardboard packaging. They were recycled at Ampol Foods. The SIG customer operates its own recycling plant for beverage cartons.
„The Eco Canteen is a great way to bring recycling to life. It shows children and their parents what happens to the cartons after they have drunk their milk. Teaching children how recycling helps the environment is really important because they are the consumers of tomorrow.“
Chatramol Intrasorn, Director of the Nikom Sang Ton Eang School
The project and the plan to increase overall recycling rates are part of the SIG initiative „Way beyond good“. The aim is to do more for the environment and society across the entire value chain than is required. „The eco-canteen serves as a Model example for the use of used cardboard packaging and underpins SIG's commitment to bringing value to the community and raising awareness of how recycling can help the environment,“ says Navapol Chuensiri, Head of Cluster Asia-Pacific South at SIG.
