UNDP, HUL partner to support 50,000 waste workers across Indian cities
The collaboration formalises and improves the livelihoods of waste workers to demonstrate scalable, city-ready models for Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) nationwide.
INDIA – The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) India and Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) have announced an expanded partnership to scale up an inclusive circular economy for plastics.
The companies aim to support 50,000 Safai Mitras (waste workers) and strengthen end-to-end waste management systems across 50 cities by 2028.
Building on seven years of prior collaboration, the new phase seeks to create stronger linkages across the entire waste value chain, from segregation and collection through recovery, recycling, and the reintegration of materials into the economy.
Angela Lusigi, Resident Representative, UNDP India, said, “Our partnership with HUL shows how inclusive circular economy approaches can strengthen both environmental sustainability and social equity.”
“Through support to cities, urban local bodies, institutions and communities, this partnership is helping build more inclusive and resilient urban systems, while ensuring that frontline waste workers are not left behind in the transition.”
The initiative is structured around four interconnected priorities: advancing social inclusion by formalising and enhancing the livelihoods of 50,000 Safai Mitras with a particular focus on women; strengthening circular economy infrastructure across 50 cities and ULBs to enable efficient, decentralised and resilient end-to-end waste management at scale; improving recycling efficiency by boosting source segregation and embedding circular practices across value chains; and developing open-source, practical toolkits for adoption by government bodies, partners and research institutions to facilitate knowledge transfer.
The partnership operates under HUL’s Project Circular Bharat (PCB), which advances plastic circularity through financially viable, end-to-end recycling models, with UNDP serving as the institutional partner for policy alignment, systems strengthening and large-scale implementation.
A core social component is Project Utthaan, which focuses on the dignity, occupational safety and social security of Safai Mitras.
The initiative is aligned with the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MoSJE) and implemented in coordination with the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA).
Meanwhile, over the past seven years, the UNDP–HUL partnership has already supported 24,000 Safai Mitras and enabled waste segregation across 120,000 households through more than 20 partners in five states, contributing to the Government of India’s Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0 and aligning with Sustainable Development Goals 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) and 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production).
Sign up to receive our email newsletters with the latest news updates and insights from Africa and the World HERE.
