Supporting waste organisations in India
Bangalore students from CEE on the harmful effects of plastic
Overview
To catalyze waste collection and removal in India, we supported five projects focused on collecting and removing as much waste as possible – especially plastics – from forests, farmland, waterways or beaches. All done in close collaboration with local communities.
We’re proud to have partnered with the changemakers listed below.
Centre for Environment Education (CEE)
The CEE was established to promote environmental awareness nationwide. CEE is part of the umbrella organization Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) that has developed the programme Eco Schools in which the aim is to ‘engage the youth of today to protect the planet of tomorrow’. The Eco School Programme produces generations of sustainably minded, environmentally conscious people. The Eco School Programme runs in 51,000 schools in 67 countries. As part of the project, 100 schools in five cities in India will be enrolled – five English Medium schools and 15 local language schools in each city. Manuals and materials focusing on waste will be produced and translated from English into five Indian languages.
Hasiru Dala
The presence of waste in India seems to be ubiquitous – most obvious in the cities. But it could be much worse, were it not for the people who make a living out of collecting and reselling waste: the waste pickers. Waste Pickers are people who live in and around formal or informal dumpsites and who sift through the waste to pick out anything of value. Hasiru Dala (the green force) works to give these waste pickers the respect they deserve and upgrade them to be more efficient and earn more money. To their own benefit – and to the benefit of the environment.
Waste Warrior collecting waste in the Himalayas
Waste Warriors
The mission of Waste Warriors is twofold: to keep the Himalayas clean and to help uplift Indians working with waste – and their children – to a better life. The project will make it possible to set up a solid waste management facility that can recycle dry waste – mainly plastics. More than 500 tonnes of dry waste will be processed within the first year. In addition, Waste Warriors will work with waste pickers to get them official IDs and access to health care.
World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), India
The union territory of Lakshadweep has seen an influx of tourists in recent years combined with an uptake of targeted fishing for yellowfin tuna marking a shift from pole fishing to net fishing. The influx of people has led to an increased challenge of managing waste as well as an increase in ghost fishing, which means that the delicate ecosystem is under pressure. WWF India will establish collaborations with diving businesses and find new ways to monitor marine debris. Fishermen will be taught how to properly discard used nets to avoid ghost fishing. WWF will pilot new ways to repurpose, reuse or recycle discarded nets as well as plastic and other types of waste from the hotels on the islands.
WWF consultation on beach clean-up