Page 12 - CIJ April 2025- Digital Edition

NEWS TRACK

Stanchart expands
WASHE Program

tandard Chartered Bank, India,
announced plans to extend its WASHE
(Water, Sanitation, Hygiene and
Education) program on World Water Day
S2025, aiming to secure water access in
32 districts by 2027. The initiative will add
1,253 water harvesting structures, building
on the program’s existing support for 369
drought-prone villages. The initiative already
provides 1.3 billion litres of freshwater
annually through 2,899 structures.
The WASHE program employs diverse
strategies, from spring shed management
in mountainous regions to localized water
harvesting in arid areas. A key component
is the installation of 135 solar-powered
water ATMs, providing clean drinking water
to thousands of families, particularly in
contamination-prone areas. The program
also focuses on greywater treatment,
irrigating 2,830 hectares of land, and training
40,000 individuals in water conservation and
sustainable agriculture.

Sludge to food and fuel HUL’s Sustainability

anyang Technological The spread of urbanization and Investment
University, Singapore (NTU industries will increase the quantity
Singapore) has ventured into of sewage sludge. Conventional industan Unilever Limited
a solar-powered process to disposal methods (incineration or (HUL) acquired 14.3%
Nconvert sewage sludge into landfill) are rated as time-consuming, stake in Lucro Plastecycle
green hydrogen for clean energy and energy-inefficient and polluting. Private Limited (Lucro), a
single-cell protein used in animal NTU’s process is more efficient than Hrecycled flexible plastics
feed. The sludge-to-food-and-fuel company which is into waste
method targets two critical global conventional methods like anaerobic management, recycling and
challenges about waste management digestion. It recovers significantly product manufacturing, focussed
and resource generation. Managing more resources, eliminates heavy on creating a circular plastics
waste is challenging due to metal contaminants, requires a economy. The investment is a step
its composition of pathogens, smaller environmental footprint and towards HUL’s sustainability goals
contaminants and heavy metals. offers better economic feasibility. in line with the Union government’s
vision of a zero plastic waste future.
The decision is aimed at increasing
the availability of recycled content
for flexibles, a move towards
sustainable plastic packaging and
to take on the challenge of hard-to-
recycle flexible plastic.
12 APRIL 2025•Clean India Journal•www.cleanindiajournal.com