Untenably managed waste has severely impacted the developing nations more as compared to the developed nations, especially their urban poor. Low and middle-income countries often dispose waste in unregulated dumps or burn it openly. These practices have created serious health, safety, and environmental consequences. Managing waste properly is essential for building sustainable and livable cities and towns, but it remains a major challenge for many developing countries and cities. Effective waste management is expensive, often comprising 20% - 50% of municipal budgets. Operating this essential municipal service requires integrated systems that are efficient, sustainable, and socially supported.

Athak Foundation has identified its focus in providing waste management solutions, with a highlighted focus on plastic waste. Athak Foundation recognizes that every bit of plastic is every individual's responsibility, who uses and discards it. Athak is of the opinion that recycling of any resource should take place with keeping sustainability of nature in mind. Plastic has very little or no re-sale value and has often been the primary cause of blocking sewage drains leading to calamitous situations in the past. Athak Foundation works with a two-pronged strategy in dealing with the growing menace of plastic waste. The first is the conversion of plastic into poly-fuel and the second is to increase awareness among people to minimize the usage of plastic.

Athak Foundation presently operates this project in the Central Suburbs of Mumbai and plans to expand encompassing the entire city, thereby providing a solution to the public authority for the rising menace of the plastic waste disposal. Athak seeks the cooperation of all its contemporaries, the public and corporates at large to scale up the efforts in making the world a slightly better place than before.

Athak Foundation, under its flagship programs undertakes Monthly Collection Drives on the last Sunday of every month to collect the plastic waste which is later sent out to Athak's affiliate in Pune where the collected plastic is reconverted to High Speed Diesel. Athak Foundation also carries out various Awareness Programs, through which they reach out to schools and Cooperative Housing Societies by conducting seminars, lectures and interactive presentations.

Athak has also designed and successfully implemented public outreach programs to sensitize the masses about the perils of overuse of plastic. They have been instrumental in reaching out over 10,000 school students and incorporating them into the program as well as over 100 Cooperative Housing Societies who have been actively involved in the Monthly Collection Drives.

Athak has also taken a step ahead and managed to provide a unique platform for small businesses in and around the Suburbs of Mumbai to showcase their indigenous products through Exhibitions. They have given an opportunity to 500 different entrepreneurs so far and have been consistently growing for the last couple of years. The roadmap for the next decade for Athak remains the establishment of a preprocessing facility enabling a higher volume of plastic being transported to its affiliates in Pune and effectively contributing to the decrease in burden of waste management on the municipal corporations.