India’s Fastest-Growing Zero-Waste City Movement
India’s fastest-growing zero-waste city movement — empowering 3,00,000+ students in Pune to turn off the tap on waste.
Our Impact So Far
More than 70,000 students through 130 schools have implemented
Mission City Chakra's
Non-Plastic Tiffin Boxes, Water Bottles and Textbook Covers
Appeal
Schools Enrolled
+
Students Reached
Lac
Families Influenced
Lac
Plastic Prevented/year
tonnes
A Replicable Model for Indian Cities
WHAT WE DO
A Structured, Scalable Path to Zero-Waste City
Built on systems thinking, circular economy principles, and institutional leadership.
Vision:
A Zero-Waste Pune City
Mission:
We are on a mission to turn off the tap on waste in the city by empowering intermediate policymakers to implement waste reduction measures at a scale
EMPOWER
Activities
- Collaborate with the Policymaker of the school, the School Principal
- Appeal them to make steel tiffin box and steel water bottle compulsory, banning plastic and simple paper textbook covers instead of plastic or lamination as PHASE I
- Conduct Student/ Parent Awareness Sessions
- Share Awareness Material with parents through School WhatsApp groups
Outcome
- Phasing out of 3 plastic products in close proximity to children
- Awareness of students and parents to nudge them toward right material selection
IMPLEMENT
Activities
- Make 3 rules a part of school policy to complete the PHASE I
- Recognize the School and the School Principal for their contribution
- Consult the School Principal for the cause of maximum waste generation in the school for PHASE II
- Design and implement project to reduce that waste.
Outcome
- Towards a zero-waste school
- Reduction of plastic exposure for students
- School Staff, Students, Parents awareness Generation
- Recognition for right actions and Encouragement for more right actions
SCALE-UP
Activities
- Outreach for all 1200 schools in Pune City
- Implementation of PHASE I in all 1200 schools in Pune City
- Communication of impact at policy levels
Outcome
- Towards a zero-waste city, one zero-waste school at a time
- Awareness generation of lacs of students and their parents through 1200 schools
- Behavioral Change for students, parents, teachers
- Awareness and the change percolating in their personal lives
WHY THIS WORKS
A Systems Approach: Tackling Root causes, Not Symptoms
Upstream Intervention
We eliminate waste at the point of generation — not manage it after
Children as Policy Multipliers
Students carry habits home, creating household-level behavioural change.
Institutional Leverage
One principal decision impacts hundreds of families instantly.
Circular Design
Steel and paper re-enter safe loops; plastics are reduced at source.
Join Pune’s Zero-Waste Transformation
Simple policies. Big impact. Cleaner futures for our children.