The WaterTree Project has been selected to be a part of Tetrapak's Go Nature, Go Carton campaign which sources grown-for-purpose timber from sustainable plantations that raise seedling timber for the specific use of the renewable and recycling industries such as The WaterTree Project.
So we are NOT chopping down trees from pristine or old-growth forests.
These plantations exist in addition to, and sequester and prevent logging to old growth trees, so that our jungles and forests are not touched, and remain the green lungs of the planet.
Our packaging falls under the UBC category.
UBCs are categorised within the PAPER category under the national waste segregation scheme. Hence, they can be collected along with paper in the paper stream for recycling. Main reason is that UBCs are mainly made of paper and the end destination for recycling is at the paper mill.
The plant-based cap is created from sugarcane which is processed into ethanol and eventually plastic. So to be clear, the bio-cap is plastic but its creation has a much lower carbon footprint than plastics derived from fossil fuels.
Our re-cycling partner, KPT has pioneered a process where they can separate out the component materials of our packaging: paper, aluminium and plastic. The paper can be directly recycled into high quality paper products such as cardboard boxes or high strength paper. Our packaging consists of highly fibrous paper, which is commercially valuable. So KPT has established a nationwide network (e.g. Alam Flora etc) that collects and resells used packaging. The plastic and aluminium components are combined to form a composite material that can be used to make roof tiles, bins and desk tops. The water used in this separation process is filtered and re-used and does not produce any toxic outflow into the local environment.