Since launching its Green Bank project in 2020, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) has collected more than 14,000 kg of recyclable waste across its campus and surrounding communities. On 29 September 2026, Tetra Pak Malaysia handed over Kampar district's first beverage carton recycling kiosk to the university; the kiosk is assembled from "eco-boards" made from 59,858 discarded beverage cartons.

Key Points

  • Since its launch in 2020, UTAR's Green Bank project has collected over 14,000 kg of recyclable waste
  • Tetra Pak handed over Kampar district's first beverage carton recycling kiosk, built from eco-boards made from 59,858 discarded beverage cartons
  • Tan Min Li, Sustainability Director for Tetra Pak Southeast Asia, revealed that Malaysia's beverage carton recycling rate has reached about 40%

Speaking at the handover ceremony, Tan Min Li, Sustainability Director for Tetra Pak Southeast Asia, noted that the company has been recycling used beverage cartons in Malaysia for more than 15 years, and the national carton recycling rate now stands at about 40%. She said the key to fully achieving a circular economy lies in the public's collective participation in waste sorting—sending used beverage cartons into the recycling system so that useful resources do not end up as landfill waste. She stressed that resource recovery requires collaboration across the entire community and industry chain.

The kiosk handed over this time is itself an environmental demonstration. Beyond making recycling facilities, used beverage cartons can also be recycled into school desks and chairs, roofing tiles and other products. At a waste management briefing, Hong Shao Wei, a representative of Tetra Pak's sustainability department, explained that beverage cartons are made from 100% renewable materials, composed of roughly 70% paper fibre, 25% polyethylene and 5% aluminium foil, and demonstrated the four-step "4F" recycling method on site: push the straw back into the carton, unfold the top flaps of the package, tear open the folded corners at both ends of the bottom, and flatten the entire carton completely to save space. He added that Tetra Pak's national recycling network now covers collection stations in 37 states and regions, supported by dedicated processing plants for paper fibre and polyethylene/aluminium.

Huang Chun An, Dean of UTAR's Faculty of Engineering and Green Technology, said the faculty welcomes collaborations that deliver tangible environmental benefits. Besides the Green Bank project, it is also running projects on gasification technology and mobile charging robots, microalgae carbon dioxide capture research, and converting used cooking oil into building materials. He hopes the initiative will not only recycle beverage cartons effectively but also help the campus community cultivate environmental habits and raise environmental awareness.

At the same briefing, Mohd Ashwa, a representative of Green Energy Asia (GEA), the Kampar District Council's used cooking oil recycling partner, explained that through professional refining, used cooking oil can be 100% converted into biodiesel and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), cutting greenhouse gas emissions by about 84% compared with petroleum and diesel. From 2022 to October 2025, the company collected more than 1.39 million kg of used oil and paid over RM4.29 million in recycling fees to food businesses and residents who collected and returned the oil. He noted that cooking oil reheated more than twice deteriorates severely and poses health risks; poured down the sink, it clogs drains and can even cause flash floods, and it is easily mixed back into the food supply chain by unlicensed illegal collectors. Residents or businesses simply need to filter and cool the used oil, store it in a sealed container, and call the company's hotline to book a pickup; staff will arrive with professional pumping equipment and electronic scales, weigh it on the spot and exchange it for cash immediately.

The handover ceremony was witnessed by Kampar District Council President Ahmad Sukairi. For the used clothing and textile recycling industry, this collaboration offers a practical example of recycling high-value composite packaging such as beverage cartons, and reflects how campus and community settings are becoming important entry points for brands and local governments to advance extended producer responsibility (EPR) and the circular economy.

Source: UTAR Green Bank has collected 14,000 kg of recyclables since its 2020 launch - Local - Community Schools · Originally published 2026-09-29