Kabariwallas – or waste pickers – are an important part of India’s solid waste management system. They are expert recyclers, sorting through others’ waste and recovering materials that can be reused or sold. Their work can take many forms – in some places, they purchase valuable materials directly from households; in others, they sort through the piles of waste that go uncollected on street corners or vacant lots, or pull material directly from landfills. They often operate in the informal sector, outside of a city’s “formal” waste management system – although we are learning that in some cases, the government-managed waste collection system is less effective, efficient, and sustainable than the work of the kabariwalls.
A recent study estimated that there are about 1.5 million waste pickers in India. Waste picking work carries social stigma – it is associated with low-caste status here in India – and can be unsanitary and dangerous. But, it also brings many benefits – diverting waste from landfills, reducing municipal costs of waste management, addressing the unsightliness and public health concerns of uncollected waste, and providing a livelihood for many who may not otherwise have access to steady employment. (You can read more on waste pickers around the world here.)
Recently, there have been increasing efforts to organize, empower, and legitimize waste pickers – bringing about greater benefits while reducing the stigma and poor working conditions. Working alone or with NGOs, waste pickers have formed unions and cooperatives, fought for rights and recognition, improved the safety of their work, and connected with peers around the world. Waste Ventures is one of those NGOs working here in India, and we had the chance recently for a Skype chat with the organization’s vice president, Tiffany Talsma. Waste Ventures works mainly in northern India, in cities of less than 500,000 people. These cities often do not have existing municipal-run waste collection systems, so Waste Ventures helps waste pickers fill this gap – training them in waste processing and composting, providing protective clothing and waste carts, creating cooperative companies that collect waste for a fee door-to-door, and providing access to global carbon markets to bring in an additional revenue stream.
We were interested in learning about waste pickers in general, to better understand how solid waste management in India works, and specifically, to consider whether we might draw on waste pickers to help tackle the organic waste problem. (Traditionally, they deal mostly in “dry waste” like paper, plastic, or glass.) Tiffany was able to offer some insight into the challenges of organic waste management… She explained that one of the biggest challenges is overcoming the perception that organic waste is unhygienic and not to be dealt with – especially a consideration in the areas of North India where Waste Ventures works, which are predominantly Hindu and adhere strictly to the caste system. New tools like gloves and a natural bug repellant that can be sprayed on food waste have helped the waste pickers feel more comfortable handling organic waste.
A demonstration of waste segregation at Daily Dump, a local waste management and composting company.
Related to this reluctance to handle organic waste is another challenge – the difficulty of source segregation. Ideally, dry and “wet” (organic) waste should be segregated at the source – right in the house where the waste originates. As we’ve heard multiple times, many Indians are remiss to sort their waste in this way. Its never been asked of them before, and switching to a new waste disposal process that requires more thought, planning, and effort, is a tough behavior change. When households don’t sort, however, they cause problems down the line: sorting waste after its been mixed makes a difficult – and dirty- job for waste pickers, the quality of any resulting composted material is potentially compromised because of non-organic waste, and contamination from wet waste can decrease the value of recyclable materials.
Tiffany also shared some info that motivated us to keep exploring our idea. Although many of the households that Waste Ventures worked with resisted segregating at first, she estimates that 30 – 40% now sort their waste into wet and dry before the waste pickers collect it. Behavior change is possible! She also explained the organization’s process of aerobically composting their organic waste and selling the resulting material to local farmers. We’ve been uncertain thus far about rural farmers’ interest in, and willingness to pay for, organic compost, especially when government-subsidized chemical fertilizers are so cheap. She affirmed that there is interest – often farmers will ask for compost before it is even ready to be sold.
Later this week, we’ll be talking with Nalini Shekar, founder of Hasiru Dala – an organization that works with waste pickers here in Bangalore – to continue to learn how their skilled work is a valuable contribution to the waste management system here.
Organic.Adventures.In.Bangalore 