The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : ITC, Ramky to launch waste recycling campaign

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Thursday, Jun 30, 2011
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

ITC, Ramky to launch waste recycling campaign

Special Correspondent

A tonne of waste paper collected is equivalent to saving 22 trees
5,000 tonnes of waste paper can produce 4,000 tonnes of fresh paper

HYDERABAD: ITC, in association with Ramky Group, will be launching a month-long waste recycling campaign in the twin cities involving schoolschildren, corporates and commercial establishments to propagate their ‘Wealth out of Waste' (WOW) initiative.

The initiative, which began in 2007 with recycling of 10 million tonnes of waste paper generated in the capital, is now slated to reach 3,000 million tonnes and take it up to 5,000 million tonnes in the next one year. For every kilo of recyclable donated, ITC would provide Rs.5 and the funds thus generated would be used for providing stationary kits to 25,000 underprivileged children studying in government-aided schools.

These details were provided at a press conference by ITC Divisional Head, Commercial, Joga Rao, on the eve of first anniversary of the ‘national recycling day' being observed on July 1. Mr. Rao, who made a presentation on the ‘WOW' initiative, said one tonne of waste paper collected was equivalent of saving 22 trees. And 5,000 tonnes of waste paper collected could produce 4,000 tonnes of fresh paper. About 60 per cent of the 4,000 tonnes of garbage generated each day here is waste paper, 20 per cent plastic, 10 per cent glass and five per cent metal, hence the potential was immenseITC – Paperboards & Speciality Papers Division Chief Executive Sanjay Singh said wood and waste paper were only the ingredients to make paper. While the Bhadrachalam plant was using 5,000 tonnes of waste paper in addition to pulp, the Coimbatore plant was completely based on waste paper raw material. “Many firms are interested in starting paper mills, but the problem is availability of waste paper,” he said.

Ramky Group Chairman Ayodhya Rami Reddy said the campaign to take recycling plastics, metal, cloth, wood, glass other than paper should be intensified with greater awareness as opportunities were immense. ITC-Ramky combine has plans to set up power plants and paper mills with municipal waste.

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