A 350 metre stretch of road in Raina GP that connects Eklakhhi toll plaza and Rautara bridge over the canal has been coated with 1 mm blue pigment extracted from non-biodegradable plastic garbage. The road has been laid exploiting technology transferred from Dubai. The engineers linked to the All India Roads Association helped with technology transfer. Tarmac or concrete roads absorb solar energy during the day and release it at night – causing the towns to be hotter than the hamlets serviced by earthen roads. The use of molten bitumen is reduced by 10 percent as shredded plastic is mixed as a substitute. It also helps improve the water-resistance of the road. Trials of this technology have been carried out in Doha, Qatar, Los Angeles, USA, and also in Japan – especially in the areas that record intense heat and humidity.

Indore start-up Swaaha has been chosen to undertake the task of making the Amarnath Yatra in the high Himalayas completely eco-friendly. This year, Swaaha will once again lead a team of more than 350 Safari Mitras and volunteers to prevent waste from polluting the Himalayas. They will set up 13 camps for waste management along the Baltal and Pahalgam routes of the Amarnath Yatra, along the entire Yatra route, including the base camp, langar area, and cave. To raise awareness about sustainable tourism and responsible pilgrimage, various activities such as awareness jingles, a Yatra hymn, pledge forms, selfie points, cloth bags, and a Swachhata mascot will be present at the base camps. The message will be further amplified through social media, reaching every corner of the country, to prevent pollution in the Kashmir valleys and Himalayan mountains. The 62-day yatra, scheduled from July 1 to August 31, aims to collect and process approximately 1,200 tons of waste, with a primary focus on promoting behavior change.

Swach Enviro E-Waste India Pvt. Ltd. was Honored with the GEA2023 award for the Most Trusted Electronic Waste Management Service Provider in India. Expressing her joy and gratitude upon receiving the award, Kajal Arora, Founder and Managing Director of Swach Enviro E-Waste India Pvt. Ltd. stated, "We are extremely honored to be recognized as the Most Trusted Electronic Waste Management Service Provider in India. This award is a testament to our team's hard work and dedication to promoting responsible e-waste disposal and recycling. We are committed to making a positive impact on the environment by providing efficient and sustainable solutions for electronic waste management. This recognition further motivates us to continue our mission of creating a cleaner and greener India

Foxx International and Butterfly Gandhimathi Appliances Limited have joined hands to provide waste management services in India. This collaboration aims to provide comprehensive solutions for plastic and electronic waste management services to meet the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) obligations as per the E-waste and Plastic waste management laws in India. Under this arrangement, Foxx International will assist Butterfly with documentation and compliance of statutory obligations with the Central/State Pollution Control Board (CPCB/SPCB) to ensure that EPR Obligations of Butterfly are complied with. Foxx International will work as an E-waste collection agency of Butterfly on a PAN India basis and will be responsible to collect, store, transport & dispose of as per the environment norms.

As part of the “Meri Life, Mera Swachh Shahar” initiative directed by the Swachh Bharat Mission, a unique ‘Recycle Mart’ has been set up at D'Mart in Belapur. The Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC), has started the 'Three R's' (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) concept as part of the '21 Days Challenge’. The central government has now announced the launch of similar 'Three R' centers nationwide as collection centers for household items, enabling the distribution of these items to those in need. Continuing its commitment to innovation, the NMMC has introduced 'Three R Centres' at 92 locations across the city.

In response to the Himalayan waste crisis, ‘The Himalayan Cleanup’ (THC) will be held from May 26 to 30, across the mountain states of India. This year the theme of World Environment Day is “Solutions for Plastic Pollution,” which makes THC 2023 even more relevant. THC is an annual event with the participation of Government departments, individuals, community-based, faith-based civil society organizations, educational institutions, and other stakeholders in response to the Himalayan waste crisis. It has been organized since 2018 to raise awareness of plastic pollution, an issue that all mountain regions are grappling with and to advocate for systemic changes. ‘The Himalayan Cleanup’ 2018 was conceived by Zero Waste Himalaya and Integrated Mountain Initiative to highlight the waste crisis in the Indian Himalayan Region and the region-specific challenges of waste management.

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has said that the government is working on a policy to utilize municipal waste in road construction. The initiative aims to provide an innovative solution to waste management issues while saving costs and incorporating cutting-edge technology in these projects. The minister spoke about the guidelines already issued by MoRTH for the use of waste materials in the construction of highways. He also shared information on the use of materials such as fly ash, plastic waste, geosynthetics, and rainwater harvesting, among others, used in highway construction in different parts of the country.

Coca-Cola India and Zepto have recently announced the expansion of their collaboration in India to reinforce their commitment to plastic circularity. The ‘Return and Recycle’ initiative was launched in November 2022 as a pilot project in select locations of Mumbai. The initiative established an organised process of collecting PET bottles with 100% traceability, to ensure effective plastic waste management. About 100kgs of PET bottles were collected and recycled as a part of the 60-day pilot project. Zepto and Coca-Cola’s collaboration aims at driving the digitisation of their collection strategy by leveraging e-commerce platforms, the company stated. Additionally, the initiative will now be scaled with collection bins deployed across hundreds of Zepto delivery hubs in Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Pune, and Kolkata.

Circular Kolkata Alliance has launched ‘Circular on Wheel’, a battery-operated cart that collects e-waste from doorsteps in Kolkata and recycles them at designated material recovery facilities for segregation. The initiative aims to promote circular economy practices in Kolkata and reduce the amount of waste that ends up in landfills. The alliance is composed of several partner organizations, including Earthday Network, Global Shapers Kolkata Hub, and Hulladeck. Twirl, Y-East, SwitchON Foundation, SVP India Kolkata Chapter, and Platinum Trucking. The initiative also includes sessions on the importance of waste segregation and recycling.

CLEAR, a bottled water brand in India, has tied up with Recycle. Green in its endeavor to become a Zero Waste Brand. CLEAR turned 18 on May 7 and pledged towards efficient recycling of waste, through all its channel partners. This will ensure it recycles the same quantity and subsequently twice the plastic waste it generates and help it realize its target of becoming plastic-negative by 2027. As a part of its tie-up, CLEAR has created a framework to collect all the plastic waste generated at plants and used bottles and divert them for recycling. It is sensitizing and training its employees, distributors, and sellers about the Zero Waste mission and creating rewards and incentives for plastic recovery and recycling. Also, offerings are incentives and discounts for customers on Recycle.Green app to promote zero waste culture and greater engagement with waste collectors and recyclers. It is also focusing on making ESG a culture at CLEAR through training and awareness.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Rare announced a global partnership to tackle plastic waste management and behavior change. The Global Environment Facility Small Grants Programme (GEF SGP) implemented by the UNDP and the Rare’s Center for Behavior and the Environment (BE.Center) are collaborating on this important initiative. This is part of UNDP’s efforts to advance the implementation of its Plastics Offer and Local Action Service Offer. Rare’s work will support the design and implementation of behavior change programs at national and local levels. These programs will leverage best practices and the latest insights from behavioral science and design thinking and apply those insights directly to managing the plastic waste crisis. This partnership will be implemented through the GEF Small Grants Programme, which recently launched the Plastics Innovation Programme to support communities and local actors to implement 54 mid- and upstream focused plastic projects.

This year, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India envisages celebrating World Environment Day 2023 with a thrust on the Mission LiFE. The concept of LiFE, i.e., Lifestyle for Environment was introduced by the Prime Minister, at the World Leaders' Summit in Glasgow at the 2021 UNFCCC COP26, when he gave a clarion call to rekindle a global pursuit to adopt sustainable lifestyle and practices. Mass mobilization across the country on LiFE is being organized in the run-up to the celebrations. National Museum of Natural History in collaboration with the National Zoological Park kick-started the Mass Mobilisation for Mission LiFE on waste reduction (swachhata actions) to bring behavioral changes among the masses