Aditi Ramola
Technical Director
Last week, Oda Kristin Korneliussen (Programme Manager, CLOCC Global), Mads William Bertelsen (CLOCC Advisor), and Aditi Ramola visited the District of Chengalpattu in India, where CLOCC has an ongoing project.
Following the successful launch of the District Waste Master Plan in November 2024, the project has entered its second phase, which includes the Eco Village Initiative—developed in partnership with Hand in Hand India and Hand in Hand Sweden. Together with teams from HiH Sweden and HiH India, we visited four pilot villages where communities are actively developing waste management systems tailored to their local contexts. The aim is to create scalable models that minimize littering and maximize recycling, ultimately enabling replication across other villages in the region.
The image above captures a visit to a composting center owned by the municipality, where food and other biowaste are converted into compost. A composting machine—procured through the CLOCC project—is being piloted as a space-efficient solution for smaller centers that lack room for traditional compost pits. The finished compost is sold to both farmers and households.
During the week, Aditi also had a chance to present findings from CLOCC during a session titled “Inclusion in Waste Management – Scaling Gender-Transformative Business Models and Practices”. The session was part of a multi-stakeholder workshop exploring innovative financing mechanisms, local entrepreneurship, and inclusive approaches to strengthening circular economy ecosystems in sustainable plastic waste management. The workshop was organized under the EU-India Resource Efficiency and Circular Economy Initiative (EU-IRECEI)—a joint effort of the European Union (EU) and the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV), in cooperation with the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), Government of India.
Aditi highlighted CLOCC’s inclusive and participatory methodology, including baseline data collection using UN-Habitat’s Waste Wise Cities Tool and collaborative planning with local communities. She also emphasized the role of women’s self-help groups as key stakeholders in both the design and implementation of locally adapted waste management systems. Insights from the Eco Village initiative were shared as an example of a scalable, community-based model for inclusive circular solutions.
CLOCC currently operates in four regions across Indonesia and India, working closely with local authorities and partners to build waste systems that serve approximately 7 million people. By improving waste management at the community level, CLOCC aims to prevent mismanaged waste—especially plastic—from polluting the environment through open dumping or burning, and ultimately reaching the ocean.
The CLOCC Programme is funded by Norad – the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation – through the Norwegian development program to combat marine litter and microplastics.
To learn more about CLOCC, visit: https://www.cloccglobal.org/
Join the upcoming ISWA webinar “From local action to global impact: Tackling ocean plastic pollution” on 22 April from 14:00 to 15:00 CEST.
Register for the webinar here.
