UNDP, HUL Partner To Strengthen Plastic Circular Economy Across 50 Cities

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in India and Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) on Monday announced a new phase of their partnership to strengthen an inclusive circular economy for plastics, with a target to support 50,000 Safai Mitras and waste management systems across 50 cities by 2028.

Building on seven years of collaboration, the partnership will focus on four areas -- social inclusion, strengthening urban waste management systems, improving recycling efficiency, and knowledge transfer, a joint statement said.

Under the social inclusion component, the programme will work towards formalising and improving livelihoods of 50,000 Safai Mitras, with a particular focus on women, it said.

It will also support 50 cities and urban local bodies (ULBs) in developing efficient, decentralised and resilient end-to-end waste management systems, besides improving segregation at source and strengthening recovery and recycling practices across value chains, it said.

The partnership is part of HUL's Project Circular Bharat, which focuses on advancing plastic circularity through financially viable, end-to-end recycling models, it said.

UNDP will support policy alignment, systems strengthening and implementation at scale. The initiative is aligned with the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment and is being implemented in coordination with the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, it said.

UNDP India Resident Representative Angela Lusigi said the partnership demonstrates how inclusive circular economy approaches can strengthen both environmental sustainability and social equity.

"At the centre of this effort are Safai Mitras, who play a critical role in keeping urban waste systems running every day," she said, adding that support to cities, ULBs, institutions and communities would help build more inclusive and resilient urban systems.

Over the past seven years, the UNDP-HUL partnership has supported 24,000 Safai Mitras and enabled waste segregation across 1.2 lakh households through more than 20 partners in five states.

"This partnership reflects the power of collective action in scaling the circular economy in India," HUL Executive Director B P Biddappa said.