Page 18 - Clean India Journal Magazine June 2019 Issue

NEWS TRACK

Nestle’s ‘Plastic Express’ in The Body Shop to use recycled
Dehradun, Mussoorie plastic

estlé India in collaboration with Gati Foundation, a ndia has 1.5 million waste pickers who collect
NDehradun-based environmental action and advocacy Iand sort over 6,000 tonnes of plastic every day,
group, recently launched a project in Dehradun and that would otherwise pollute rivers and oceans.
Mussoorie for effectively managing post-consumer plastic They have virtually no visibility in society and have
waste. Recognizing the fact that there is need for an limited rights. They are vulnerable to discrimination,
organized waste management system around ‘MAGGI poor living and working conditions and an
points’ on the Dehradun- Mussoorie highway and around unpredictable payment system.
tourist points in Mussoorie, a mobile van named Plastic
Express will travel between 200 of these shops and collect The Body Shop has launched its first Community
MAGGI wrappers and other dry plastic waste from these Trade recycled plastic from Bengaluru, in partnership
outlets. The dry waste which is collected segregated and with Plastics For Change, Hasiru Dala and Hasiru
disposed responsibly by Nestlé India. Dala Innovations. Community Trade is The Body
This initiative follows in the heels of Nestlé India’s ‘2 Shop’s bespoke and independently-verified fair trade
Minute Safaai Ke Naam’ campaign in the hill towns last programme, which launched on World Fair Trade
year, an endeavour to engage with consumers and bring Day, to tackle the plastic crisis differently.
about a behavioural change towards the need for disposing To mark this launch, the company had unveiled
plastic waste responsibly. In the second phase of this project, a giant artwork of a female Indian waste picker in
Nestlé India is working with Mussoorie Nagar Palika London’s Borough Market, made using recycled
Parishad (MNPP) and RECITY Network to implement an plastic collected by waste pickers in Bengaluru.
integrated plastic waste management system in Mussoorie In 2019, The Body Shop will purchase 250 tonnes
of Community Trade recycled plastic to use in nearly
three million 250 ml hair-care bottles. The bottles
will contain 100% recycled plastic (excluding the
bottle caps). About 15% of that will be Community
Trade recycled plastic, the remainder will be recycled
plastic from European sources.
In three years, the aim is to purchase over 900
tonnes of Community Trade recycled plastic and help
empower up to 2,500 waste pickers in Bengaluru.
They will receive a fair price for their work, a
predictable income and access to better working
conditions. They will also get help in accessing
services such as education, financial loans and
healthcare.
The Body Shop has also launched its in-store
recycling programme – BBOB (Bring Back Our
Bottles), encouraging customers to return empty
plastic packaging in stores for recycling. It’s
currently operational across 40 stores.

18 Clean India Journal www.cleanindiajournal.com
June 2019