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Another milestone: Roundglass Foundation sets up the 100th Waste Management Unit in rural Punjab

Another milestone: Roundglass Foundation sets up the 100th Waste Management Unit in rural Punjab

RoundGlass Foundation celebrated the successful implementation of the 100th Waste Management Project, in as many villages of Punjab, with the people who made it possible. Village Sarpanches, Waste Collectors, and members of village Youth Clubs, were felicitated in a gala event on November 25, 2021. Each one of them believed in RoundGlass Foundation’s vision of a cleaner and greener Punjab, and worked night and day to bring it true.

Sandeep Hans (IAS), Deputy Commissioner of Patiala, graced the occasion with his presence. He addressed and felicitated the Sarpanches from participating villages.

The Foundation partners with the Government of Punjab to implement a decentralized model of segregation for composting and recycling for efficient, cost-effective, and sustainable waste management. The 100 waste management projects have created as many jobs and impacted 15,000 households. The projects cover 14 districts in Punjab including Fatehgarh Sahib, Patiala, Ludhiana, Mohali, Mansa, Rupnagar, Bathinda, Moga, Gurdaspur, Kapurthala, and Nawanshahr.

Deputy Commissioner, Patiala, Sandeep Hans along with members of RoundGlass Foundation

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Sandeep Hans, Deputy Commissioner, Patiala, said: “The best thing about the RoundGlass Foundation’s Waste Management program is the community involvement — the team mobilizes and educates the local community to adopt and maintain solid waste management systems, thereby ensuring their participation in the cleaning up of their villages. We are committed to supporting the Foundation in its initiatives on women empowerment, environment, children, sports, etc. It is the need of the hour.”

Venkatesh ‘Venky’ Raghavendra, Strategic Advisor to the Foundation, said, “We aim to reach all the villages in Punjab and engage with the community on the importance of waste management and proper waste disposal. Our efforts have resulted in employment generation, reduced stress on village landfills, and helped clean up local water bodies. Our pledge to create a cleaner, healthier Punjab and enable a life of Wholistic Wellbeing for its people in line with our mission has only strengthened with the setting up of our 100th Waste Management facility.”

RoundGlass Foundation is slowly but steadily transforming the villages of Punjab and helping people live better lives. The Foundation partners with the Government of Punjab to implement a decentralized model of segregation for composting and recycling for efficient, cost-effective, and sustainable waste management. The state and local governments provide 70-75% of the project cost in subsidies and the Foundation covers 20-25% of the cost.

The Program goes beyond setting up Waste Management Facility. Villagers are educated to create awareness and change habits. The team holds workshops on the importance of waste segregation and management among locals. Appointed waste collectors are trained to collect trash daily from households every morning. The Program also helps clean up villages and rejuvenate local water bodies with a view to  safeguard the environment. Since the Program’s implementation, villages have converted waste into more than 100 tons of compost that is available to farmers.

RoundGlass Foundation aims to clean up many more villages in Punjab under the Waste Management initiative. Get involved to help us make the villages of Punjab waste-free!