UNDP India launches campaign to drive inclusive circular economy

Published
27th Jan, 2023

Context

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) launched a campaign to drive an inclusive circular economy as part of its initiative to promote sustainability.

About the initiative

Project title: “Inclusive Circular Economy”
Partners: United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL)
The project is a scale-up of existing partnerships under UNDP's flagship Plastic Waste Management Programme.
Aim: The initiative focuses on the end-to-end management of plastic waste by
- promoting the segregation of waste at the source
- collection of the segregated waste
- setting up Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs) for recycling all kinds of plastic waste along the value chain
- support the social inclusion of 20,000 waste-pickers across the country

The partnership is the first-of-its-kind attempt to promote the social inclusion of Safai Saathis at this scale in India.

Adoption of management models: The partnership with Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) will also help build the capacities of Urban Local Bodies for adopting the MRFs or Swachhata Kendra model for plastic and dry waste management in other cities.

UNDP's flagship Plastic Waste Management Programme.

The project has successfully linked 3,300 Safai Saathis and their families to government welfare schemes, including Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana, SHRAM card, and Jan Dhan account.