Driving innovaton in India

The FINILOOP Plastic Lab (FPL) is a unique part of our plastic waste management programme, FINILOOP, designed to support and scale up start-ups who are finding innovative solutions to plastic waste challenges. The FPL was launched in March 2023 with 17 start-ups taking part in a 14-month incubation & mentorship initiative. Innovative start-ups like Dharaksha EcoSolutions who is pioneering a new alternative to plastic by utilising a bio-engineered form of fungi to produce biodegradable packaging material. Find out more about their solutions here.

Pioneering new technologies

Many low- and middle-income communities rely on manual human waste emptying services – an incredibly unsafe job, and inefficient process. In response to this, a new breakthrough technology has been developed by partner organisation the Practica Foundation – the PuPu (Push&Pull) Pump. An innovative design which eliminates the need for a traditional vacuum tanker by replacing it with a high-pressure suction vacuum for off-site treatment of faecal waste. Technology which WASTE is now piloting in Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania, alongside looking for ways to scale and produce the PuPu pump locally. All combining to bring a sustainable solution to unsafe faecal waste collection and disposal, creating a cleaner environment for all and safer livelihood opportunities.

Investing in WASH and waste

Currently, very few investors are looking at investing in small and growing businesses (SGBs) in the WASH and waste sectors, given the high transaction costs and risks involved.  But these companies are vital in helping us to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. In recognition of this, our innovative financing initiative, Take-a-Stake (TAS), has been conducting a pilot programme proving the investment case for SGBs in these sectors, and mobilising finance for sustainable growth. In 2023, TAS brought an additional 30 companies onto the first step of this journey, providing them with capacity building to enable them to become investment ready.

Building on the success of the last year, in December we were pleased to announce the expansion of FINILOOP into a third city in India – the famed ‘pink city’ of Jaipur, which has a total population of 2.3 million people and is the capital of the state of Rajasthan. Currently there are three active material recovery facilities and over 800 existing plastic waste enterprises in the city, a selection of which FINILOOP will be working with to strengthen and connect, alongside other key stakeholders.

In 2023, FINISH Mondial (FM) demonstrated its capability to act as a catalyst for scale in the sanitation sector. In India, the programme achieved 111% of the target set for safe sanitation systems, resulting in generating more employment days than targeted. Furthermore, the team in India helped exceed the funds leveraged target by 163%, reflecting FM’s catalytic role in mobilising resources for sanitation projects.

With the help of investment mobilised through TAS, Spouts of Water – a small and growing business in Uganda providing water filters to local communities – was able to expand into Rwanda. In response to lack of clean water access, Spouts develops and distributes ceramic water filters which are locally and sustainably made. They have grown to become one of the largest ceramic water filter manufacturers in Africa reaching 1.1 million people with clean water and with expansion into Rwanda they will be able to facilitate the provision of clean water to a further 2 million people.

Read their full story

In response to the growing problem of overflowing septic tanks polluting the condominium residential area of Shashemene, in Central Ethiopia, WASTE successfully developed a nature-based solution; the construction of wetlands to effectively treat community wastewater. This was done in partnership under the SDG WASH project bringing together the expertise of local partner BBBC and Dutch consultancy company, Ecofyt. As a result, the local community now has access to a cleaner environment and safely treated wastewater that can also be utilised in the dry season.

At the heart of all our programmes is a multi-stakeholder approach, we do not create new infrastructure but instead identify, assemble and engage all stakeholders within the settings we work to increase effectiveness, local ownership and sustainability. To kick start our newest programme, FINILOOP, and foster mutual understanding, two Memorandum of Understandings (MOU) were signed with the Municipal Corporations of Amritsar and Jaipur. These partnerships recognise the pivotal role played by local governments in creating an enabling environment for the effective functioning and strengthening of the plastic waste value chain.

The increase of plastic waste volumes, and the consequence this has on the planet and people’s health have become alarming issues. Social businesses around the world are developing innovative approaches to plastic recycling whilst at the same time supporting marginalised communities. However, social businesses cannot tackle plastic waste alone, they need cross-sector partnerships to help them scale their solutions. In 2023 WASTE, in collaboration with Yunus Social Business, put together the Social Procurement Sector Spotlight Report on Plastic Waste to shine a light on the opportunity for corporations to partner with social businesses in solving plastic waste through social procurement.

Climate resillience in WASH

Research plays a key role in expanding our understanding of complex WASH and climate connections, ultimately leading to better design, sustainability and rationale for much needed climate financing for sanitation and water. In 2023, two interns delved into this issue with WASTE as part of their MA in Water and Sustainable Development. With the help of research insights, we are continuing to develop and advocate for more inclusive climate-resilient sanitation solutions, for example flood-proof toilets.

Commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Our core work focuses on the UN’s SDGs 11 (sustainable cities), 8 (decent work and economic growth), and 6 (clean water and sanitation). We have focused on developing interventions which have cross-sectoral impact, linking to multiple SDGs beyond these, to achieve greater impact and ensure sustainability by strengthening whole ‘systems’ or markets.

Sharing knowledge and providing capacity building

“I used to work as a labourer, toiling away, stacking bricks one upon another. Even now, I am engaged in the same work, but with a mindset focused on safe sanitation… I consider myself both an engineer of safe sanitation and a doctor of hygiene.” – Lakshmina Devi, female artisan in our sanitation programme

Sharing knowledge and providing capacity building to local communities is a core part of our approach to ensure sustainability long after we have gone. Through gaining valuable insights from capacity building sessions Lakshmina has journeyed from a challenging life as a daily wage labourer with limited income to becoming a skilled mason.