Kimberly-Clark launches ‘Sustainable Housing for Waste pickers
Kimberly-Clark India launched ‘Project ??’ in partnership with the Plastics for Change India Foundation, an initiative that will deliver sustainable housing facilities to on-ground waste collectors in India. Over a period of six months, a total of 30 metric tons of single-use and multi-layered plastic will be recycled to construct 15 houses in the Hubli-Dharwad region of Karnataka. Apart from directly reducing plastic waste, ‘Project ??’ is a step towards advancing the well-being of an underserved and underrepresented community. Once successful, the project will be extended to several other parts of the country as well. Kimberly-Clark, fulfilling its Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), will connect with stakeholders across the value chain – from waste collectors to recyclers and waste processors. Over the years, Kimberly-Clark has launched several such initiatives and partnerships to reduce the environmental footprint and make lives better through purpose-driven actions. In the partnership with Plastics for Change India Foundation, channel partners like Ricron Panels will collect and convert the non-recyclable plastic waste into sheets that are used as the building material for these houses. The houses are lighter and more durable than cement sheets or ply, can resist wind speeds of up to 120 km/hour, have no heating issues and will provide durability for close to 30 years. Along with improved sanitisation and safe living conditions, each house will also generate livelihood opportunities for 30 waste pickers each day. For the past two decades, Kimberly-Clark has been recycling manufacturing waste, with a diversion rate of 96%. They aim to be at the forefront of the transition to a circular, reuse economy – contributing to waste reduction while giving consumers the products they need.
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