Context

• Alliance to End Plastic Waste, a Singapore-based-NGO working in the environmental sector, plans to invest between USD 70 million to 100 million in India over the next five years to majorly to reduce plastic waste.
• The Alliance has set a target to invest between USD 70-USD 100 million in India over the next 5 years.

Key Details

• The latest project by the Alliance and Deutsche Gesellschaft for Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) is the Aviral, Reducing Plastic Waste in the Ganga.
• The initiative, which was announced on July 28, coinciding with Nature Conservative Day, aims to reduce the amount of plastic waste entering the environment in the northern Indian cities of Haridwar and Rishikesh.

Alliance-UN Habitat 

• The other big project by the Alliance, in collaboration with the UN-Habitat, is to implement solutions toward a circular economy, creating business and livelihood opportunities while enhancing resource recovery. Announced on July 22, the Alliance-UN Habitat strategic partnership has initiated projects in six cities, including Thiruvananthapuram and Mangalore.
• The others are Nairobi and Mombasa as well as Addis Ababa and Bahir Dar.
• It will use the UN-Habitat Waste Wise Cities (WWC) Tool to map waste flows and assess potential plastic leakage from waste management systems and identify short- and long-term pathways to increase the amount of plastic waste collected, recycled and recovered.
• The programme supports the Alliance’s focus on developing meaningful city projects in high plastic waste leakage communities, and the WWC Challenge to clean up and establish sustainable waste management in 20 cities around the world by 2022.

 Zero Plastic Waste Cities initiative

• Among other projects are the Zero Plastic Waste Cities initiative in India and Vietnam, a combined vision of the Alliance and the Grameen Creative Lab, the creative laboratory for social business solutions co-founded by Nobel Peace Laureate Professor Muhammed Yunus.
• This project tackles the plastic issue by improving and supplementing municipal waste management, repurposing collected waste and preventing it from flowing into the ocean.
• It will develop sustainable social businesses that improve the livelihoods of many while preventing plastic waste from escaping into the environment
• The two initial cities involved in this project are Puducherry on the southeast coast of India and Tan an in the Mekong Delta region of Vietnam.

Facts for Mains

• India currently generates around 26,000 tonnes of plastic waste every day, over 10,000 tonnes of which is not collected.
• For India, bringing plastic waste back into the supply chain could bring annual benefits of Rs.40 lakh crore in 2050.

Facts for Prelims

• Plastic Waste Management (Amendment) Rules 2018 introduced the concept of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR).
• UN-Habitat launched Waste Wise Cities Campaign in 2018 with a call for action in sustainable solid waste management in cities.
• WWF International has launched Plastic Smart Cities, to respond to the increasing concern of marine plastic pollution coming from mismanagement of waste management in cities with a strong focus in South East Asia.