The event was attended by the Minister of Environment, Dr. Dammika Patabendi, senior representatives from both organisations, and stakeholders from across the sustainability and recycling sectors.
Sri Lanka generates 249,037 tonnes of plastic waste annually, yet only 11% is recycled, according to the National Plastic Waste Inventory 2024.
The Green Wheels initiative is designed as a transformative response to this gap, introducing a fleet of 50 locally manufactured electric bikes to collect plastic waste directly from rural, urban, and underserved communities.
The project is VERRA-certified, ensuring globally recognised transparency, verification, and traceability of the plastic recovered.
With a target of collecting and recycling 6,500 tonnes of plastic per annum, the project focuses heavily on community upliftment.
By integrating women, youth, and low-income families into the collection and sorting ecosystem, Green Wheels aims to create stable income-generating opportunities while significantly improving the reach and efficiency of Sri Lanka’s recycling infrastructure.
Speaking at the launch event, Minister of Environment Dr. Dammika Patabendi praised the public-private collaboration as a model for national replication, saying,
“Sri Lanka’s plastic pollution crisis cannot be solved by government action alone.
We need scalable, community-centred solutions driven by innovation.
The Green Wheels project is a strong example of how technology, private-sector leadership, and grassroots participation can come together to support our national waste management agenda.
This initiative strengthens livelihoods, expands recycling capacity, and contributes directly to the Sustainable Development Goals Sri Lanka has committed to.”
Eco Spindles, already recognised globally for converting discarded plastics into polyester yarn and monofilaments, has strengthened its nationwide collection network through this project.
Eco Spindles Recycling Chief Executive Officer Prasantha Malimbadage said,
“Our experience shows that sustainability works best when it delivers real value to people.
By combining electric mobility with community-based collection, Green Wheels creates an efficient and decentralised system for recovering plastic that would otherwise end up burned, dumped, or washed into our rivers and oceans.
This project enhances our raw material pipeline, strengthens community incomes, and creates a predictable and verifiable impact that benefits the entire country.”
Green Earth Group N.V, which operates certified sustainability projects across Asia, Africa, and Europe, highlighted Sri Lanka’s potential to become a regional leader in inclusive recycling models.
Green Earth Group Marketing Director Zeeshan Ali commented,
“Across our projects worldwide, we have seen that true environmental progress requires community participation.
Green Wheels brings together clean mobility, local manufacturing, and inclusive waste collection in a way that is both scalable and measurable.
Our partnership with Eco Spindles and BPPL allows us to introduce a system that not only recovers plastic efficiently but also brings financial resilience to the families who need it most.”
The Green Wheels initiative directly advances Sri Lanka’s national sustainability priorities by aligning with several UN Sustainable Development Goals, including reducing poverty, expanding economic opportunities for women, strengthening decent work, and supporting more sustainable and resilient communities.
By improving responsible consumption and production patterns and reducing the flow of plastic into ecosystems, the project also contributes to climate action and the protection of marine and terrestrial environments.
Importantly, its certified crediting structure brings stable foreign currency inflows into the country, positioning the project as both an environmental solution and a long-term contributor to Sri Lanka’s economic resilience.
As rollout begins across priority districts, the Green Wheels Plastic Collection Project stands as one of Sri Lanka’s most ambitious recycling and livelihood-development initiatives to date, offering a practical pathway toward a cleaner environment and stronger, more resilient communities.