Mondelez India Invests to Recycle Multi Layered Plastics in India

Mondelez India, today announced a grant to Hasiru Dala,
an NGO that will recycle Multi-Layered Plastic (MLP) waste to create sustainable furniture
boards for creating tables, benches and for other uses. The pilot project will use the
technology purchased from start-up TrashCon, to convert ~600 tonnes of MLP waste per
annum into ‘WoW Boards’. The project was facilitated by Ubuntoo, a global environment
solutions company.
“One of the key challenges in India, is recycling of multi layered plastics given
infrastructure constraints. While on the one hand, we continue to work with the government
to support collection, segregation and recycling, we felt it was critical to experiment and
support enterprising technologies and initiatives that can recycle multi layered plastics at
scale to address the issues of waste management. This unique and one-of-a-kind pilot
project recycles multi layered plastics to create WoW Boards that are highly durable and a
sustainable plywood alterative for building, construction, furniture, and other end uses. We
have made a grant to Hasiru Dala that will convert waste to wealth, generate employment
and create a viable business model while addressing the challenges of MLP in a sustainable
manner. The success of this project and its learnings will create a model for companies in
India to replicate for MLP recycling at scale. We are very excited to pilot this
initiative.”, said Deepak Iyer, President – India, Mondelēz International.
"Ubuntoo works with thousands of innovators and entrepreneurs around the world to
address some of the planet's biggest environmental challenges. This pilot project is
especially exciting because it has global potential to help solve not just plastic waste, but
also reduce the huge environmental footprint of the building and construction industry.",
said Venkatesh Kini, Co- Founder of Ubuntoo.
As part of this initiative, MLP waste will be collected by Hasiru Dala’s wide network
of waste collection units and then processed and converted at a special unit set up in
Bangalore into recycled ‘WoW Boards’, which is a highly durable and efficient alternative to
plywood. The technology

solution, provided by TrashCon, a start-up waste recycling equipment manufacturer, will
create highly durable WoW Boards that can be used for a variety of purposes – both
industrial and consumer. The initiative through funding by Mondelez India and in
partnership with its impact investing arm, Sustainable Futures, is expected to begin
commercial production in July 2021.
“Hasiru Dala has been working with local government in Bengaluru to manage
inorganic waste for several years by creating entrepreneurs out of waste pickers. We have
always been looking for solutions to multi-layered and low value plastic. A study in 2018 has
shown more than 80 percent of plastic waste collected is low value but bring almost nothing
in terms of income to the centres. They typically end up at landfills or in co-processing in
cement kilns. The WoW boards will help bring income to the waste pickers and will have
applications particularly in replacing wood- based sheets in construction and furnishings.”,
said Nalini Shekar, Co-founder, Hasiru Dala.
“At TrashCon, we have invented patented technology to convert MLP coming from
houses, streets and even landfills into an alternative to plywood thus solving not only the
plastic issue but also preventing incessant cutting of trees. We’re really pleased that
Mondelez India is supporting Hasiru Dala in adopting TrashCon’s technology.”, said
Nivedha RM, Founder, TrashCon.
As part of the Mondelēz International’s commitment to reducing its environmental
impact, it is addressing the biggest sustainability challenges relevant to its business, which
includes plastics pollution. Over 97% of Mondelez India’s packaging is currently designed to
be recyclable. In 2019- 2020 and in 2020-21, the company achieved 100% Extended
Producer Responsibility targets in India.