Kathmandu is a place of opportunities, people from all walks of life, and different cultures. Knowing this there are Hotels, Restaurants, Cafes, and Entertainment Hubs that cater to this population, meaning a lot of waste PET plastic bottles. This is where the HoReCa initiative comes in. After thorough planning and a lot of discussions, we started the HoReCa initiative where we would collect and pay the partnered institutions a certain rate for their collected bottles. Initially, I underestimated this initiative as we know that the municipality and local waste vendors manage and circulate the waste plastic. However, much to my surprise, the HoReCas were quite informed about waste PET plastic. So much so that some of the institutions did ask us whether we are only using the plastic for profit.

When we gave them our pitch, they were greatly inclined to give us their waste PET bottles. We developed 25 partnerships out of which 60% free extractions and 40% paid extractions. On average we would collect 90kgs to 175 kgs from the established partnered institutions. Looking at the way institutions function, we can greatly make a difference when it comes to making different HoReCas and entertainment hubs Waste Smart. Imagine the difference we can make with greater partnerships!