Plastic pollution is one of the leading sources of environmental pollution, which poses a huge challenge in maintaining a more sustainable environment. Amidst the challenges, even the smallest efforts to refrain plastic from entering the landfill can be a huge help for the environment and the community. Although there are a lot of challenges in plastic issues the environmental impact of PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate) bottles and its phenomenal capacity-to-weight makes it the best quality recyclable plastics with a low carbon footprint.​CREASION is a leading national organization working towards establishing a measurable, verifiable PET waste recycling mechanism in Nepal through its project, Recycler Saathi supported by The Coco-Cola Foundation. Since 2019, the project has collected more than 4,000 tons of used PET bottles (around 400 Trucks) for recycling from five provinces of Nepal and has directly worked with more than 4000 waste workers.   Nepal’s waste management infrastructure lacks the capacity to capture and recycle all the plastic waste we generate. We currently rely on local government and the private firms to manage our waste which has caused a gap to tap the additional waste collection that is being generated in the country. Ensuring that waste is correctly collected and managed, protects the environment from plastic pollution and ensures that recyclable materials make their way to the appropriate destination, where they can be progressed into new usable raw materials and products.

Along with recycling, Recycler Saathi works in the formalization of the waste ecosystem in Nepal and the livelihood enhancement of the waste workers. By screening the needs of waste collectors and balers,  Recycler Saathi carefully plans and customizes various activities for them. As part of the intervention to ensure good health of our waste workers, Recycler Saathi has organized ten health camps, twenty occupational safety training sessions in the past years along with the distribution of the insurance to the waste workers. Further, to enhance the working efficiency of the balers, capacity building training for them has been organized frequently.One of the important parts is also the behavioral aspect for the waste management. Besides recycling of waste PET bottles, one of the major interventions of Recycler Saathi is advocacy and awareness as well. The drivers of change are children and youth to whom they have been providing awareness and practical sessions on recycling through various programs and activities.  Recycler Saathi has launched Waste Smart Clubs for the  students to receive exposure to and well-rounded knowledge about the waste management scenario. There are a total of 20 waste smart clubs in 20 government schools in Chitwan. In close collaboration with Recycler Saathi, Waste Smart Clubs are exposed to recycling practices as well as made aware about the need to recycle. They are taken for site visits and shown the process of baling, vertical gardening, organic farming and so on. Recycler Saathi has also developed training modules for the local governments for the training on waste management. Till now, the team has given training to 200+ local level elected representatives to date. With a strong value chain, stakeholders’ engagement and the diversion of plastics to the supply chain from landfills and water resources, Recycler Saathi aims to recycle the plastics in Nepal that will help attain the Net Zero Emission by 2045.