Solid waste management is an ever-growing issue in India as the country urbanizes and consumption habits change in this growing economy. 337 million people live in urban areas of India today and this is projected to grow to 590 million by 2030. 42 million tons of municipal solid waste is generated annually in the country. Its growth is outpacing the capacity of municipal governments to manage waste, leading to environmental pollu-tion, poor sanitation and health concerns.

Recycling of waste is mainly carried out by the informal sec-tor, reducing the volume of waste by 10-20% in most cities. In Bangalore, informal waste collectors recycle an estimated 600 tons per day, 15% of the city’s waste, saving money for the local government and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. But they are marginalized and harassed, exposed to hazardous working conditions and have little access to government services.

Trash to Treasure: Helping Bangalore create the first city-wide recycling system that empowers informal sector workers

Global Communities’ Trash to Treasure program has been helping the city establish a decentralized waste manage-ment and recycling system. Beginning in 2009, the program piloted seven recycling centers in Bangalore that recycle 31.5 tonnes of waste per month. These centers provide direct jobs for informal waste collectors as well as new income opportunities up-stream and down-stream in the collection and processing of waste. We are now supporting the Bangalore government to replicate these recycling centers in each of the city’s 198 wards, starting with 40 wards.

The Trash to Treasure program also takes significant steps to support the rights, dignity, recognition, and security of the estimated 15,000 informal waste collectors in the city. The Program helped the Bangalore government become the first city in India to issue identity cards to informal waste pickers that authorize their work in the city. Over 7,000 individuals have received these cards thus far. We then helped organize 2,500 waste collectors into an association called Hasirudala (“green force”) to advocate for better working conditions and access to government services.

Scaling UpGlobal Communities’ is now scaling up the Trash to Treasure program. This is a critical period where we will draw on lessons from the T2T pilot phase to ensure the larger decentralized sys-tem is institutionalized in the city. Trash to Treasure will focus its resources on 5 main areas:

1. Support local government to institutionalize new recycling centers in the city. This will include support to local social enterprises and NGOs that will operationalize these centers.

2. Create recycling enterprises inclusive of informal workers. In addition to building enterprises that operate each recy-cling center, we will continue to work through Hasirudala to organize small enterprises of waste collectors to service bulk waste producers like office complexes and apartments buildings.

3. Work with producers of products in waste stream to in-crease recycling. We have been working with companies like TetraPak to increase the amount of their products that get recycled by creating new markets for their products. We will expand programs like this.

4. Raise public awareness to increase segregation and re-cycling. We will continue to support public awareness and education on the importance of proper waste disposal, seg-regation of waste at the source, and recycling opportunities.

5. Expand services to informal waste collectors. We will con-tinue to extend support services to the 7,000 informal waste collectors have been issued identity cards. These range from livelihoods training and health care to educational sup-port for children.

Highlights In the NewsGoing “garbage-free” is not easy in Bangalore - CitiScope, April 15, 2014“It’s moving away from a centralized model of waste disposal, where all waste is hauled out of the city. In its place is a more decentralized system, with the waste largely recycled or burned at the neighborhood level.”

From waste picker to recycling manager - CitiScope, April 14, 2014“Providing waste-pickers identity cards has legitimized their work and gives them access to health care and scholarships for their children. Recycling centers sustain themselves financially and handle waste at the neighborhood level.”

Increase Recycling + Integrate

Wastepickers

Institutionalize Government Policies and Support for

Infrastructure & Operations

Raise Public Awareness to Increase Segregation and

Recycling

Work with Producers of Products in Waste Stream to

Increase Recycling

Create & Build Recycling Enterprises Inclusive of

Informal Workers

The Way Forward

Global Communities is an international non-profit organization that works closely with communities worldwide to bring about sustainable changes that improve the lives and livelihoods of the vulnerable. www.globalcommunities.org

India’s Plague, Trash, Drowns Its Garden City During Strike - The New York Times, Oct. 26, 2012“Few expect Bangalore’s municipal government to solve the problem itself. Instead, a network of nonprofit groups has sprung up to carry out recycling schemes; these nongovern-ment organizations have embraced the thousands of rag pickers who daily paw through the city’s garbage…Let us make them all part of the formal system.”

Foundations Try to Legitimize India’s Invisible Environmentalists - The New York Times, May 16, 2011“The business model for “Trash to Treasure” is simple. The city provides the land, CHF uses money donated from Caterpillar and the Gates Foundation to buy the facilities, and the waste pickers’ salaries are paid by two fees. One is a monthly fee from households for collecting waste and the other is from selling recyclables and organic waste to collectors.”