Project on reducing plastics waste in Ganga
Singapore-based Alliance to End Plastic Waste, backed with funding by multi-national corporations focused on the Indian market, has planned an investment of US$70-$100 million on environment-friendly projects in India over the next five years.
“India is a very important focus for the Alliance,” said Jacob Duer, President and Chief Executive Officer of the non-governmental organization Alliance which expecting another US$1 billion from MNCs which has long-term commitment to the Indian market.
The US$70-$100 million investment is from the Alliance’s US$500 million planned spendings in the five years which will also cover China and South East Asia countries.
Duer said Alliance, set up in January 2019, is also in the process of setting up an office in New Delhi.
“We are looking to establish a presence in India by the end of the year. But all the date is in the air now given the COVID-19 situation.”
India generates around 26,000 tons of plastic waste every day, over 10,000 tons of which is not collected, according to the India Central Pollution Board.
The Alliance is already working on a good number of projects with more in the pipeline, said Duer, a former representative of a United Nations Environment Programme team that negotiated and concluded (Minamata Convention on Mercury with the Indian Environment authority in 2017.
The latest project by the Alliance and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) is the Aviral – Reducing Plastic Waste in the Ganga.
This initiative, announced on 28 July 2020 coinciding with Nature Conservative Day, aims to reduce the amount of plastic waste entering the environment in the northern Indian cities of Haridwar and Rishikesh, said the Alliance in a release.
Aviral seeks to pilot an approach to address waste management challenges. In particular, it will focus on strengthening an integrated plastic waste management system.
Following the two-year pilot in the two cities, the partnership aims to scale this initiative across partnering cities in India, added Duer on 4 August 2020.
The Alliance is also collaborating with the UN-Habitat to implement solutions toward a circular economy, creating business and livelihood opportunities while enhancing resource recovery.
Announced on 22 July 2020, the Alliance-UN Habitat strategic partnership has initiated projects in six cities including Thiruvananthapuram and Mangalore. The other projects are in Nairobi and Mombasa as well as Addis Ababa and Bahir Dar.
“We will use the UN-Habitat Waste Wise Cities (WWC) Tool to map waste flows and assess potential plastic leakage from waste management systems and identify short- and long-term pathways to increase the amount of plastic waste collected, recycled and recovered,” explained Duer.
The program supports the Alliance’s focus on developing meaningful city projects in high plastic waste leakage communities, and the WWC Challenge to clean up and establish sustainable waste management in 20 cities around the world by 2022.
Among other projects is the Zero Plastic Waste Cities initiative in India and Vietnam, a combined vision of the Alliance and the Grameen Creative Lab, the creative laboratory for social business solutions co-founded by Nobel Peace Laureate Professor Muhammed Yunus.
“This project tackles the plastic issue by improving and supplementing municipal waste management, repurposing collected waste and preventing it from flowing into the ocean. It will develop sustainable social businesses that improve the livelihoods of many while preventing plastic waste from escaping into the environment,” Duer said in a press release.
The two initial cities involved in this project are Puducherry on the southeast coast of India and Tan An in the Mekong Delta region of Vietnam.
Currently, a feasibility study is being conducted to determine the best option for the plastic waste conversion output, to ensure long-term adoption in each community. The cities will run pilot programmes to find out which option best serves their needs, he said.
But Duer is expecting more multi-national corporations to join as members of the already a 50-strong Alliance as it works out more and more environmental projects sanctioned by the regional governments.
The MNCs include Indian heavyweight #Reliance Industries, #ExxonMobil, #ChevronPhillips, #Clariant, #Dow and 3Formosa #Plastics. /fiinews.com
“Plastic waste has value,” Duer added, citing the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, a think-tank in circular economy.
For India, bringing plastic #waste back into the supply chain could bring annual benefits of Rs.40 lakh crore in 2050, said Duer from the Foundation study. #environment #pollution #swachhbharat #india #china #asean #industries #MNCs /fiinews.com
