Nestle India joins forces with regional foundations for ensuring better waste management

World’s largest food and beverage company, Nestle India, along with Gati Foundation, a Dehradun based environmental action, and advocacy group recently launched a management project together.

The project lays strong emphasis on effectively managing post-consumer plastic waste in Dehradun and Mussoorie. They aim to introduce a mobile van, named plastic express that will run errands around the Dehradun- Mussoorie highway, collecting Maggi wrappers and other dry plastic waste. The accumulated dry waste is to be disposed to Nestlé India who in turn intends to responsibly dispose of the waste. The drive behind the initiative is that plastic waste should not be disposed of out rashly in the environment. The van will cover around 200 ‘MAGGI Points’, collecting the scraps then pushing them forward to the higher authorities for effective waste management.

Sanjay Khajuria, Director – Corporate Affairs, Nestlé India said, “We believe that tackling the issue of plastic waste requires a collective approach. Through this project, we will be working with stakeholders who will properly collect, segregate and dispose of multilayered plastics (MLP) to the end of its life. We are happy to collaborate with Gati Foundation to help us progress towards the journey of managing plastic waste effectively”.

Anoop Nautiyal, Founder, Gati Foundation said, “While this collaboration is a step towards reducing plastic waste by engaging with outlets, it is equally important to drive awareness among consumers for effective collection and segregation of used plastic packaging. We hope that we will be able to collectively make a significant difference in plastic waste management over the next few years”.

Maggi has also launched an initiative to manage plastic better, through its exchange offer of ‘Return empty plastic packets, get one packet free.’ The program has started in Uttarakhand but the company plans to spread it across other regions soon.

As a multinational company, with a strong presence in the Indian market, Nestle India also held a 2 minutes Safaai Ke Naam’ (2 minutes for cleanliness) initiative in the cities of Dehradun and Mussoorie last year. The project is multi-faceted where the second leg of the project includes the cooperation between Nagar Palika Parishad (MNPP) RECITY Network and Nestle India for implementing an integrated plastic waste management system in Mussoorie.

As there have been mounting concerns over plastic disposal and its harm to the environment, more companies are coming at the forefront to launch successful conservation and management programs.