In truth, our journey began thirteen fortunate years ago amidst the clamour in Bengaluru for improved waste management. We were a cadre of volunteers, steadfast in our belief that including waste pickers in this mission was not just an environmental imperative but an environmental justice.
Formally established as a trust in 2013, our work was already rooted in an ethos that continues to shape our language and aspirations today. We highlighted waste pickers’ remarkable contributions to Bengaluru’s waste management and the city’s recycling economy. Collaborating with the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagar Palike (BBMP) – Bengaluru’s municipal body – we successfully advocated for Occupational Identity Cards for the waste picker community. This set the stage for demonstrating how waste pickers could offer professional services as waste collectors and operate Dry Waste Collection Centres.
Expanding our reach, we now operate in over 18 cities, 38 taluks, and 64 villages across two states in South India. Our efforts have led to the inclusion of waste pickers’ children for Pre-Matric Scholarships, acknowledging their involvement in occupations linked to sanitation and health risks. Furthermore, waste pickers are now recognised stakeholders in the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016, as outlined by the MoEFC, GoI, and have been incorporated as a distinct category in the Swachh Survekshan under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan 2.0.
Collaborating closely with the BBMP and citizens, our work has ensured that Dry Waste Collection Centres and the integration of waste pickers are integral parts of Bengaluru’s Solid Waste Management Bye-Laws and the broader framework of the Karnataka Directorate of Municipal Administration.
Each accomplishment, every peak scaled, only propels us towards the next objective and the path we must chart to attain it. As we engage with communities locally and collaborate with organisations nationally and globally, our aim remains clear: to integrate waste pickers comprehensively. We strive for a “just transition” so that the waste workers of the future are empowered and equipped to transform their professions, leading lives imbued with social, economic, and environmental equity.
