United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) partner to strengthen plastic circular economy across 50 Indian cities

Key facts

• The partnership aims to support 50,000 Safai Mitras and waste management systems across 50 cities by 2028.
• The programme will focus on four areas: social inclusion, strengthening urban waste management systems, improving recycling efficiency, and knowledge transfer.
• Under the social inclusion component, the partnership will formalise and improve livelihoods of 50,000 Safai Mitras, with a particular focus on women.
• The partnership will support 50 cities and urban local bodies in developing efficient, decentralised and resilient end-to-end waste management systems.
• The initiative is part of HUL's Project Circular Bharat, which focuses on advancing plastic circularity through financially viable, end-to-end recycling models.
• Over the past seven years, the UNDP-HUL partnership has supported 24,000 Safai Mitras and enabled waste segregation across 120,000 households through more than 20 partners in five states.