Ahead of World Earth Day, Nestlé India reiterated its commitment to the planet by bolstering Project Hilldaari in the quaint cities of Palampur and Dalhousie in Himachal Pradesh. Project Hilldaari is a Nestlé India initiative in partnership with PLAN Foundation and technical partner Recity India Pvt Ltd. Over the last five years, project Hilldaari has successfully developed inclusive and resilient models for waste management in select tourist cities of India. The project is currently operational in Ponda, Mussoorie, Mahabaleshwar, Munnar, Darjeeling, Dalhousie, Palampur, Panchgani and Junagarh.

Launched in October 2023, Palampur has been a striking example of the positive transformation in waste management through a collaborative, community-driven approach covering 12,900 households, 2,000 commercial properties, and serving an annual tourist footfall of approximately 8 lakhs. Project Hilldaari has achieved an impressive 82% waste segregation rate and 85% collection coverage in the city. The Project has also engaged 155 waste workers, who have undergone capacity-building training sessions.

Since its inception in June 2020 in Dalhousie, Project Hilldaari has diverted more than 1,219 MT of waste from landfills in the city. The Project has achieved a remarkable 82% waste segregation rate while engaging with 20 waste workers in the city.

Commenting on the occasion, Mr. Suresh Narayanan, Chairman and Managing Director, Nestlé India said, "The hills are among one of the most ecologically fragile ecosystems. Five years ago, we embarked upon an important journey with Project Hilldaari to bring about positive change through collective action and adopting sustainable waste management models.  Through a multi-stakeholder approach, the project has grown from strength to strength, transforming our vision into reality. As we move ahead, Project Hilldaari will continue to drive awareness, systemic improvement and dignity among the waste workers in India’s solid waste management landscape’’.

Ms. Neha Sasikumar, Director, PLAN Foundation said, “At PLAN Foundation, we believe that sustainable change is only possible when communities, institutions, and individuals come together with a shared purpose. Project Hilldaari is a powerful example of this spirit — one that uplifts waste workers, empowers citizens, and builds resilient urban ecosystems. Our focus has been on bringing about a behavioural change at the grassroots. As we approach World Earth Day, we remain committed to strengthening these partnerships and building more inclusive and circular waste management models across India.”

Over the last 5 years, Project Hilldaari has successfully diverted approximately 47,000 MT of waste from landfill through source segregation. The Project has been successful in achieving around 81% of source segregation across 64,000 residential and commercial waste collection points across all locations. The Project has also helped professionalize almost 1,650 waste workers across these nine locations