KEEP
SUPPORTED BY
IMPLEMENTATION BY
IMPLEMENTATION BY
IMPLEMENTATION AT
In Association with
Pondicherry
ABOUT THE PROJECT
Project KEEP, the CSR initiative of Godrej Consumer Products Limited, in partnership with Pondicherry Municipality, Swachata Corporation and Recity Network, aims to make Pondicherry, Tamil Nadu, one of the cleanest coastal cities in India. The project has developed an inclusive, contextual and resilient model to streamline management of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) and professionalize 700 waste workers for enabling a circular economy by 2024. From diverting post-consumer dry waste, especially plastics, to ensuring scientific end-of-life solutions for it, Project KEEP is building the circularity of 170 tonnes per day of waste from formal and informal sources in the city, daily.
PROBLEMS IDENTIFIED
Inadequate Waste Processing Infrastructure
Under-equipped systems in the city to process all kinds of non-recyclable waste that made its way to the landfills.
No Segregation at Source
Lack of segregation at individual and institutional level made it difficult for the existing processing infrastructure to reach its optimal capacity, resulting in waste reaching the environment.
Lack of Holistic Planning for SWM Systems
Multiple isolated attempts in the past to build the efficiency of the SWM systems, resulting in unbridged gaps and half-met outcomes.
Poor socio-economic conditions of the workforce
Formal and informal waste workers were unaware of their socio-economic entitlements, access to government policies and the power to unionize and participate in SHGs.
SOLUTIONS
Diversion of waste from the environment
- Creating awareness about no-littering and waste segregation practices with interventions like door to door interactions and IECs among others.
- Deploying a digital monitoring system, for real-time visibility of movement of waste and on-ground resources.
- Organizing clean-up drives to encourage the city’s participation and build ownership among citizens for the environment.
Sustainable Waste Processing Infrastructure
- Enabling source segregation and improving municipal collection services for efficient waste processing.
- Deploying robust infrastructure, through a Material Recovery Facility (MRF) called Sanitation Park, for bringing back waste to circularity, thereby averting dumping into landfills.
Reimagining Workforce as Professionals
- Bridging gaps in the workforce by envisioning them as waste professionals, and training them to better handle waste in a safer manner
- Enabling them to enter formalized roles, have access to better healthcare, fair income, and thereby improved life chances.
IMPACT
20,700+
Property Units governed under the technology platform
26,000+
Households engaged with, for behavior change
200+
Waste Workers professionalized
47,000+ KGs
of waste diverted from the landfill
2500+ KGs
of waste collected from environment through clean up drives
4 MT capacity MRF
known as Sanitation Park that processes LVP and MLP, along with PET and HDPE
Ethical & Fair Price
to the informal workers for sale of recyclables
ECOSYSTEM
Waste Generators
Residents, Tourists, Hotel Associations, Markets, Religious Institutions, Hospitals
Government Bodies
Urban Local Bodies, Gram Panchayats, District Collector’s Office, Forest Departments
Waste Sector Workforce
