Hon'ble Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh inaugrates a multi-stakeholder partnership project for Plastic Waste Recycling in Bhopal

19 Feb 2019 08:23 PM

Project is a part of UNDP and Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages partnership agreement, to launch plastic waste recycling projects in 50 Indian cities

Bhopal, June 5, 2018: Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh and Mrs. Christina Ruggiero, CEO, Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages (HCCB) Pvt. Ltd launched a plastic waste recycling program in Bhopal that aims to collect, process and recycle used plastic and convert them into useful products like T-shirts, fabric, backpacks, etc. The hard to recycle low end plastics like carry bags, laminates etc will be used to manufacture compressed boards, co- incineration in cement kilns, road laying and pyrolysis. An estimated 4-5 tonnes of plastic is likely to be collected every day through this project. Bhopal – the second cleanest city in India – thus celebrated #WorldEnvironmentDay in a near perfect way. The plastic waste recycling program is the result of a multi-stakeholder partnership being led by UNDP India and Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages to support sustainable plastic waste management practices across 50 Indian cities.

As a part of the same program, the Hon’ble Chief Minister, earlier in the morning also inaugurated a Reverse Vending Machine (RVM) at Vallabh Bhawan(Mantralaya). This machine collects PET bottles and flakes (cuts) them instantly, thereby reducing the volume of the used PET bottle by upto 85%. It has auto on and off feature and hence the machine only starts when a bottle is dropped inside. The machine has the capacity of flaking 500 bottles in an hour and has storage capacity of 500-600 bottles pieces, inside the machine. To encourage the public to use this machine, everytime they feed a used PET bottle into the machine, they will get a Paytm credit of Rs 0.50/- in their e-wallet. The machine has been developed by BioCrux and Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages is investing in these machines to encourage people to recycle PET bottles and not litter them.

The plastic waste recycling program will also improve the socio-economic conditions of waste-pickers, especially women. Through this critical partnership, the aim is to better manage over 85,000 tonnes of plastic waste per year and improve the lives of 37,500 waste-pickers, or safaii mitras.

The UNDP India – HCCB partnership aims to create a model that ensures a circular economy for plastic waste by generating value out of used plastic, thereby reducing litter. Plastics, because of its many attractive properties, such as lightweight, high strength and ease of processing, meet a large share of the materials needs of man, at a comparatively lesser cost thereby causing lesser environmental implications. However, a general callousness towards disposal and recycling of used plastic, is leading to this most useful material ending up in landfills or by the roadside.

In Bhopal, UNDP India and HCCB will partner with the Bhopal Municipal Corporation - to create a sustainable value chain in plastic recycling. In Bhopal, this project will accomplish the following:

  • Upgrade current plastic waste recycling infrastructure
  • Organize waste pickers or safaii mitras under a formal programme
  • Establish recyclers for all seven types of plastic waste
  • Build collaboration with municipal corporations
  • Undertake awareness programmes on waste segregation and plastic recycling
  • Implement a full-scale technology platform to monitor progress of the project

The project will be rolled out first in select areas of Bhopal and subsequently, will be scaled up.

Speaking at the launch Mrs. Christina Ruggiero, CEO, Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Pvt. Ltd., “One of the first things that I noticed about India is our ability to generate wealth from waste and the resultant value chain that can be set up around this process. PET is one of those game changing innovations of humankind that made our lives very convenient and it has a significant post-use value. However, all the partners that have got together in this project, realise that we need to orchestrate an environment that encourages responsible use of plastic and also ensure its post-use recovery. The installation of the RVM machine at Mantralaya today and the launch of the PET Recycling program in Bhopal has made a beginning on what could potentially be a model that be scaled up multiple times. I thank UNDP and BMC in particular for leading the way.?

About Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages (HCCB) Pvt Ltd.

Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Pvt. Ltd, is one of India’s largest FMCG manufacturing and distribution companies. It is responsible for the manufacture, package, sale and distribution of beverages under the trademarks of The Coca-Cola Company. A network of 4,000 distributors and over 2 million retail outlets distribute the high quality, great tasting beverages manufactured by Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages.

HCCB launched its first plastic recycling project in Bangalore in partnership with M/s Sahaas Zero Waste and then later in Hyderabad with M/s Waste Ventures, in April 2018. This was followed by the Mumbai & Goa Launch in May 2018 partnering Indian Centre For Plastics in the Environment (ICPE) and Goa Waste Management Corporation respectively.This launch in Bhopal brings HCCB a step closer to fulfilling its goal of initiating recycling programs in 50 major cities. HCCB intends to create an environment where every player in the recycling value chain, starting from the waste collectors to recyclers are connected. These integrated recycling programs shall be established through multi stakeholder partnerships to create an end-to-end ecosystem for plastic recycling in the country.

About United Nations Development Programme

UNDP works in almost 170 countries and territories, helping achieve the eradication of poverty, and the reduction of inequalities and exclusion. We help countries develop policies, leadership skills, partnering abilities, institutional capabilities and build resilience in order to sustain development results.

UNDP has worked in India since 1951 in almost all areas of human development, from democratic governance to poverty eradication, to sustainable energy and environmental management. UNDP’s programmes are aligned with national priorities and are reviewed and adjusted annually.

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