Launch of the Plastics For Change foundation

Millions of people in India make a living collecting, sorting, recycling and selling materials that someone else has thrown away. In India, waste-pickers provide the only form of solid waste collection, providing widespread public benefits and to environment sustainability. While recognition for their contributions is growing in some places, they often face low social status, deplorable living and working conditions and get little support from local governments. Plastics for Change India Foundation was set up in Sept 2019 as the charitable arm of Plastics for Change Recycling Corporation. The Foundations core objective is to provide dignified sustainable economic opportunities for the urban poor and improve their quality of life through social interventions.

 
 

The problem & solution

Our model is replicable where plastic pollution is heavy, public sector waste-management initiatives are insufficient and waste-pickers are exploited.The current informal sector uses crude technology to process the plastic resulting in down-cycled recycled granules. The industry cannot use this plastic because of low quality and inconsistent supply. By leveraging technology to improve the quality of plastic, we are able to access high value markets and also provide livelihood opportunities creating shared value across the global supply chain.

Environmental and social impact

Plastics for Change program recycles plastic debris collected from the environment into certified product lines. The goal is to create the demand for recycled plastic from corporate brands through our certification mark. Lack of waste management causes the plastic to be dumped in rivers and transported to the ocean. Formalizing the informal recycling economy in urban areas is key to diverting ocean plastic. Plastics For Change helps communities generate an action plan for managing waste. The company removes waste-pickers from unpredictable living standards and provides sustainable jobs and reliable incomes.

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wastepickers in India, csr, plastics for change
Social services for wastepickers

areas of focus

  1. FINANCIAL SERVICES: One of the biggest challenges in an informal supply chain is access to capital for the waste pickers and other scrap shop dealers. With the right intervention, waste-pickers themselves have every opportunity to become entrepreneurs and realise profitable recycling rates. The Foundation will provide access to loans, credit, first default guarantee and financial literacy as part of our services.

  2. SOCIAL SERVICES: Providing access to social services such as social identity cards and govt schemes, education and nutrition for children of waste-pickers, healthcare, vocational training and skilling, rehabilitative services for individuals coping with substance abuse.

  3. INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT: Providing better working conditions by upgrading infrastructure, access to other assets to improve efficiency in the supply chain, modular collection kits for waste-pickers are some of the services we provide. 

  4. RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT: Conducting landscape analysis and statistical studies on current recycling structures in India. Streamlining the recycling supply chain and bringing in efficiencies through new innovation and technology.

  5. TRAINING AND AWARENESS: The key audiences are local municipalities, informal recycling centres and consumers respectively. The Foundation works with all these stakeholders to educate, train and raise visibility on plastic related issues related to each stakeholders.

  6. SPECIAL PROJECTS: NAMMA MANE (OUR HOME and SHELTER) project: This project was developed as a twin solution for single use plastics and housing. We are using low value and single-use plastics as alternative construction materials to build a low-cost shelter for the community. The project aims to improve housing conditions for the waste-pickers community and eventually other low-income groups.

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