Yukiko Hashimoto・Neha Sathe103

吉備国際大学研究紀要（人文・社会科学系）
第25号，103−111，2015

Waste management and public-private partnership－integrating waste
pickers’ cooperative in India
Yukiko Hashimoto*

Neha Sathe **Abstract
This article intends to analyse the effectiveness of public and private partnership in dealing with waste management
in urban India. It examines effectiveness of the model with integrating waste pickers’ cooperative into public toimprove the social issue and the living standard of the waste pickers based on the survey conducted among thecooperative members. It tries to evaluate the organisation’s efficiency such as social impact, management ability,
and innovativeness. Finally, we try to identify factors to be a successful waste management model based on theevaluation results and case study. It concludes that the Solid Waste Collection and Handling Cooperative(SWaCH), a doorstep waste
Pune

Municipal

collection

Corporationcooperative resulted from(PMC) reformed not only solid

delivery across Pune, but it also improved

theunion’s

waste

joint

management

the lives, incomes and working conditions ofeffortandwithservicethe waste‐

pickers themselves, addressing the issues of both poverty and public sanitations.
Key words ：waste pickers’ cooperatives, public-private partnership

Backgroundas the environment. Anaerobic degradation of waste at
landfill sites produces methane — a greenhouse gas that is

Waste is a major health hazard that undermines people’s

20 times more harmful than carbon dioxide. Filth andright to a safe life. All forms of waste — municipal,

garbage on streets facilitate spread of diseases like malaria,

bio-medical, e-waste, or industrial, if not treated andplague; making a significant dent on a country’s prospects ofdisposed carefully are a threat to the health of people as wellachieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDG). With* 吉備国際大学外国語学部〒716-8508 岡山県高梁市伊賀町8

Kibi International University
8, Iga-machi Takahashi, Okayama, Japan(716-8508)** Karve Institute of Social Service, School of Social Work, Industrial Social Work,
Hillside Karve Nagar Pune, India.

104

Waste management and public-private partnership-integrating waste pickers’ cooperative in India

waste generation rates set to more than double over the next

government bodies (ULBs) responsible for this issue aretwenty years in low and middle income countries, the costschanging the policy to shift the responsibility to privateof managing the waste is also expected to witness a steep rise,sectors or waste pickers’ cooperatives3)4).

with cost increases being most severe in low income
countries (more than 5-fold increases) followed by middle

Waste

management

and

waste

pickers’

income countries (more than 4-fold increases)1).

cooperatives in Pune, Maharashtra

Municipal Solid Waste Management (MSW) in

Thousands of tons of garbage are segregated across theIndia

country every day with re-usable material finding its way toscrap markets. Work done by rag pickers is productive in

In India, the responsibility of waste management lies witheconomic and environmental terms.

Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) due to the public and local

In the past, all the waste was placed in bins on the roadsidenature of the service. Since MSW is inextricably linked toand the municipal trucks would regularly come to empty

urbanization and economic development, the nature andthem and take the waste to the dump. KKPKP5)6) (Kagad

constitution of MSW in India differs greatly, when compared

Kach Patra Kashtakari Panchayat), a rag pickers union

to MSW in other high-income countries. The composition ofworking in Pune is promoting the separation of waste at

MSW at generation sources and collection points in India ishousehold level: families separate their waste into

observed to mainly consist of a large organic fraction

biodegradable and non-biodegradable and rag pickers go(40–60%), ash and fine earth (30–40%), paper (3–6%) andfrom house to house to collect it and then sell what can beplastic, glass and metals (each less than 1%)2).

sold. What cannot be reused is sent to the dump, and the

In India, segregation and storage of MSW at source isbiodegradable waste is composted at source. This practice islacking and the decomposable and non-decomposable

working only in one ward of Pune. In rest of the city, thewastes are often disposed off at a common communal

practice of disposal of un-segregated solid waste by

dustbin/disposal centre. The collection efficiencies are also

households into roadside public bins and collection byseen to be poor, at around 70% in most Indian cities andmunicipal trucks is in practice; being segregated by rag

continue to be predominantly manual in nature. Transfer

pickers on dump site and bio-degradable waste in converted

stations are rarely used and the same vehicle that collects

into manure by private company as described earlier.

refuse from the individual communal bins is also responsible

The Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) Rules 2000 require

for taking it to the processing or the disposal site. Collection

municipalities to extend themselves to primary collection ofand transportation activities constitute approximately

garbage (door to door) instead of the earlier practice of

80–95% of the total budget of MSW; hence, it forms a key

secondary collection from the common collection points

component in determining the economics of the entire MSW(containers) on the street. The rules themselves are explicit inManagement system. On the contrary, disposal andoffering a range of choices that the municipalities can adopt

treatment of waste is an underinvested area and open,

for this purpose. The Maharashtra government also requires

uncontrolled and poorly managed landfills are a common

that this work should be given to organizations offeature across most Indian cities and town. Now local

waste-pickers on a priority basis. This offers the space for theYukiko Hashimoto・Neha Satheintegration of organized waste-pickers into the system of105

identification system for waste pickers.

doorstep collection so that they are guaranteed access to
scrap, their conditions of work improve, and they are able to

Recycling

work with dignity7).
However, for all the good intentions, the implementation

There are currently no facilities to sort recyclable materials inremains far from sight in Maharashtra. On the contrary the

Pune so recycling shelters and several sorting screens were

MSW Rules are forcing municipalities to clean up the city

set up around Pune in March 2011.The municipalities inwith an emphasis on improved appearances rather than job

Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad have provided sorting spaces

protection, improved recycling, or diverting waste fromlandfills. Required compliance with the Rules is promoting
them towards privatization of this work. There was noattempt to integrate waste-pickers as labourers/service
providers either by the contractors or the NGOs taking up thework of collection before. They often found unemployedyouth for this work; this was displacing the alreadyextremely poor waste-pickers from the only livelihood theyknew. Moreover, in the contract system of garbage collection,
there was no segregation of garbage at the collection point. It

but they fall short of the required number of sorting spaces.
Recycling shelters were introduced after residents’ concerns
about waste pickers sorting waste on the side of the road andafter concerns about having a sheltered area to sort dry waste.
After the waste is sorted, the recyclable materials are taken to
the scrap shops and sold. KKPKP owns 2-3 scrap shops.
Collectively, waste pickers in Pune and Pimpri (including
non-SWaCH members) collect and sort through 144 tons ofwaste per year and the scrap trade contributes 185 million
rupees to the local economy per year (Chikarmane, Narayan,2010) 9).

was done after the mixed garbage was processed leading toPune Municipal Corporation (PMC) (2014) revealed thatlosses in resource recovery. This was another reason why the

only 50% of the biogas plants set up in the city with an aim

waste pickers should be deployed on these trucks as theto decentralize garbage processing system are functioning.

collection happened. This required rag-pickers to register andAccording to Suresh Jagtap, head of PMC's solid waste

organise themselves to push for their inclusion into any

management department biogas plants help decentralization

system of door-to-door collection that the municipalityof garbage processing. According to PMC, on the other hand,

decided upon8).

the city's garbage problem seems to be getting out of hand.

In Pune, the waste pickers collect waste from households inPoor response to trash segregation, a non-effective refuse

two teams and use carts to transport waste. They usually

management process, elected members who have set up afollow the same route and this way, many of their clientsparallel disposal system to please voters, citizens' opposition

know them by name. Clients pay for waste collection

to biogas plants and villagers blocking new landfills haveservices from *SWaCH or waste pickers’ organizationcollectively led to Pune's garbage disposal system getting

dealing with door to door collection and it is up to each teamentangled in confusion10). According to Certain NGOs liketo figure out an agreeable profit sharing arrangement

Vatavaranin Delhi, CEE (Centre for Environmental

amongst themselves. When the *KKPKP was introduced,

Education) in Bangalore and SNDT (Srimati Nathibai

members fought for the implementation of an I-card

Damodar Thackersey) Women’s University in Pune havehighlighted the cause of the rag pickers and have taken※ Regarding the above 2 ※s, Please refer the details in thelater section.

initiatives to improve their lot.

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Waste management and public-private partnership-integrating waste pickers’ cooperative in India

Public-Private Partnerships in Solid Waste
Management

However, despite the rising popularity of Public-Private
Partnerships (PPPs) in the management and delivery of
MSW services, the institutional setting, governance andDuring the last two decades, high-income countries haveregulatory

taken up recycling as an integral part of their waste (andrecyclables/compost) are at a nascent stage, making theresource) management systems, and have invested heavily insuccessful implementation of PPPs a challenging task. This

both physical infrastructures and communication strategies

is further complicated by the presence of a large informal

to improve their processing and disposal capabilities. This

sector (mainly consisting of rag pickers) that pre-dominantly

has proven to be an efficient alternative to expensive landfills,

remains outside the PPP framework. Thus the evolution ofincineration and other treatment and disposal options.

the MSW sector in India and the potential role that PPPs

Despite the increasing focus on MSW management by state

could play, given the local institutional and market dynamics,

and central governments, providing affordable anddemands closer attention12).

sustainable waste management services is among the largest

Various forms of engagement among the ULBs, private

municipal challenges in India. The presence of a large

sector and community have been observed at different places

informal sector that remains un-integrated into the formal

in the country. Broadly, four kinds of engagement by ULBs

waste

can be observed in the management of MSW in India.

management

systemcoupledbyinadequate

structuresandmarketlinkages(formechanization owing to the poor financial health of theFirstly, there are ULBs that manage the wastes on their own.

ULBs has made the management and delivery of a

Cities like Jabalpur, Bokaro and Tiruchirapalli, among others,

well-structured MSW system a herculean task. In order tofall into this category. It might be the case that these cities

overcome the technical and financial deficiencies associatedengage private contractors for some services like street

with the current system, state and local governments in India

sweeping but they collect, transport and dispose waste

are increasingly resorting to the use of private contractors forthemselves.

collection, transportation and disposal and private capital to

Secondly, there are cities like Hyderabad and Rajkot which

supplement the mechanization/improvisation process. In fact,

have partnered with the private sector for processing ofprivate participation in the provision of MSW services is notwaste. In Rajkot, the collection and transportation of waste is

new to India and several corporation/municipalities havemanaged by the local municipal corporation. In Hyderabad,

employed private contractors for secondary transportation

the local authority initially entered into concession

from the communal bins or collection points to the disposal

agreements with three private sector companies for only

sites since 1985. However, the services provided for by theprocessing of waste. Lately, a separate contract was awarded

private sector then were contractual in nature and wereto a private concessionaire for collection & transportation ofconfined to one or two segments of the MSW value chain. In

waste for the entire city and processing of the remaining

recent times, the engagement of private sector participation

waste.

has increased from short-term-contracts to long-term

Thirdly, municipal corporations of Chennai, Namakkal andpartnerships. Close to 31 long-term Build-Operate-Transfer

Trivandrum, among others, have engaged SHGs and NGOs

concessions have been awarded to the private sector tillfor (decentralized) management of waste. There are also

March, 2011 to manage solid waste in the country11).

cases such as the Guwahati Municipal Corporation, whereYukiko Hashimoto・Neha Sathe107

ULB partners with both the private sector and the

KKPKP seized this opportunity to improve the working

community of informal waste workers to design andconditions of waste pickers. In 2005, KKPKP launched a

implement

pilot programme in collaboration with the PMC, whereanintegrated(centralized)

solid

waste

management model.

waste pickers were integrated in door-to-door waste

Lastly, in some cities, the local community has comecollection (DTDC) work. This paved the way for the formal

forward to manage the waste in their own areas or nearby

institution, SWaCH, a wholly-owned workers’ cooperative

vicinities. In such cases, the ULBs give permission to SHGs

as a Pro-poor Public Private Partnership to undertake suchor NGOs to undertake waste management activities. In otherwork. The SWaCH DTDC model was based on recovery ofcases, the ULBs actively supports community participation

user fees from service users and provision of infrastructure

in management of wastes by providing financial support toand management support from the municipality which was

the community based on the area served or quantity of waste

also to play an enabling role.

managed.

SWaCH becoming operational : The pilot scheme
implemented in collaboration with the Department of Adult

KKPKP and SWaCH Pune

Education, SNDT Women’s University, was operational in
2006/2008 and enabled 1500 waste pickers to become*KKPKP: a membership-based trade union

service providers for the door-to-door collection of waste

In 1993, waste pickers and itinerant waste buyers in Pune

from 1,25,000 households in Pune city13)

and Pimpri Chinchwad came together to form KKPKP, a

This considerably improved their conditions of work andmembership-based trade union.

upgraded their livelihoods, effectively bridging the gap

The union aimed to establish and assert waste pickers’

between households and the municipal waste collection

contribution to the environment, their status as workers andservice. The initiative brought together two interests – thetheir crucial role in the Solid Waste Management of the city.

waste pickers’ interest in upgrading their livelihood and theToday, KKPKP has 9000 plus members, 80 per cent ofmunicipality’s interest in sustainable SWM.

whom are women from socially backward and marginalised

In 2008, the doorstep collection work got institutionalised

castes. Each member pays an annual fee to the organization

under the aegis of SWaCH which was specifically registeredand an equal amount towards their life insurance cover.

for this purpose. With time, SWaCH diversified into

Members are given I-cards that are endorsed by the PMC,

verticals as well as extended its service delivery to anotherand can avail of other benefits like interest-free loans andcity.

educational support for their children.

Today, apart from SWaCH PMC, there is also SWaCH Plus.

*SWaCH: wholly-owned workers’ cooperative

SWaCH Plus includes all the livelihood upgradation and

In 2000, the new MSW laws and rules were passed, which

income enhancement activities with respect to waste

required segregation of waste, door to door waste collection,

management, that go beyond door to door collection, such as

and waste processing instead of dumping (MSW rules 2000).

V-Collect events where citizens can dispose of their unused

There was also a push towards reducing containers on thehousehold items/clothes; composting; e-waste collecting andstreet and making the city ‘container-free’, in the name ofdisposing through the correct channels; making and selling

more sanitary conditions and cleanliness.

ST Dispo bags; awareness raising events, etc. SWaCH

108

Waste management and public-private partnership-integrating waste pickers’ cooperative in India

model is getting recognized as effective and expanding due

Evaluation Range1~5

to their performance of solving the waste problems andS.N

Organisation and Social Success Criteria

improving waste pickers’ working conditions.

1

Mission fit with public

2

Project fit with public

Survey:3

Contribution to solution social Issues

Questionnaire and focus group discussion

4

Perception of external Stakeholder

5

Efficient use of local capital/capacity

6

Fit with client Needs- need of society

7

Fit local needs priority

8

Public communication

9

Organisation/ leadership

10

Networking

11

Management Ability

12Market potential

13

Profitability

14

Innovativeness15

Expansions possibility

16

Supporters/ Mentors

17

Shared value creation

SWaCH has been working for decades in various areas ofPune, employing the people mostly from the Schedule Caste,
to collect the wastes and garbage within the city. We
conducted a survey to evaluate SWaCH as an effectivemodel and identify keys to success. The main objectives ofthe survey are as follows;
1. To analyze if SWaCH has been contributed to improvesocial issue (waste management problem),
2. To identify what needs to be improved,
3. To know any recommendations for further operations.
Place: SWaCH headquarter, Pune, Time: Dec. 10th 2014 toDec.28th 2014 Methodology: Social ventures LLC. Licensed
under

a

creativecommons

attributions

questionnaire and FGD

Figure 1 average of evaluation

Share

for

18

Secret of success/ How to survive

Table 1 evaluation tool for Social Enterprise :Source:
2002 Social ventures LLC. Licensed under a creative
commons attributions Share –a like 3.0

Findings: As you can see from the figure 1, 1. Mission fit
with public, 3. Contribution to solve social Issues, 6. Fit withclient Needs-need of society, and 7. Fit local needs priority
are rated high(average≒5) by the members．These variables
are in the category of social and community aspect. On thecontrary, 11. Management Ability, 12.Market potential, and
14. Innovativeness are rated low (average=2 and less). Thesevariables are in the category of management aspect. It can besaid the members evaluated SWaCH project high incontributing social and community issues but low inmanagement for their sustainability.

Yukiko Hashimoto・Neha Sathe

FGD – Focus Group discussion
The respondents of this survey were 30, and they all havecreating problem to them.
3.

been working for not less than 3 years with SWaCH. They
cater to the Baner area specifically. Some of them drive the

The repairing of the trolleys is also maintained by therag pickers and it is difficult for them maintained

4.

tempo, while some collect the garbage from societies, andsome have the garbage trolley that moves house to house.

109

The occupational hazards is more and their healthcheck-up is requirement to maintain them fit.

5.

Children’s education is more important and which is

There were more women than men who carry out this work

missing, the members are not in position to give(female: 22, Male: 8). What was observed was that there is a

education to their children as they don’t have muchneed for SWaCH to expand their services to various otherincome from this.

areas of Pune, as they have been catering to particular areas

6.

Baner area, has only one supervisor, and that creates asince years. A need for expansion was felt.

problem most of the times for the workers, as they are

Though the mission is fit with public but the influence

unable to contact him properly, and he doesn’t

among the societies is not satisfactory. Some of the housing

reciprocates well and this leads to clashes between thesocieties are cooperative and supportive for the mission ofsupervisor and workers.

the organisation as this is need of society.

The societies to which SWaCH caters to have been informed

Project is fit with public and no competition as this waste

prior only, that they have to segregate the dry and wet waste

collection job is for specific community ( Backward classand keep it outside their house, and the workers will comecommunity)and collect it at a particular time of the day. Some materials

Contribution to solution social issues is strongly linked andwhich can be sold off, are sold off to a shop, while otherimportant mentioned by the members. The SWaCH project

wastes are disposed off.

is fit with client needs and need of society and it is strongly

It was observed that the workers have their family members

linked and important. The members have mentioned that thedoing the same work. This can zero down to the conclusion

waste management has high market potential which has nothat the entire family are garbage pickers.

real boundaries.

SWaCH deducts 5% from each worker’s salary, every

The waste management is not required much investment but

month. Along with these deductions, they deduct 300 rupees

some kind of investment is required significantly. The

as a part of the bachat gat. When the workers fight back formembers demanded:

the deducted money, the SWaCH people tell them various

1.

SWaCH should invest more in supplying the gloves,things like, either leave the job, or this deducted money will

chapples, mouth cover, raincoats to the workers at

be given after few months, however the money is neverregular intervals, as it was observed that it’s giving on

returned, they also say that this money is deducted foryearly basis only. The trolley given to them forbuying the gloves and boots for the workers, however, thesecollecting garbage is not of a very good quality, due toare given once a year, so why is the money deducted every

which it gets spoilt a lot of times, and the workers havemonth. The workers were unaware on their part so as to why

to repair it with their own money.

the money is cut from their salaries every month which is not

The Rag pickers don’t get space where they caneven repaid back to them.

segregate the waste and the society members are

The workers also wanted more work during the day so that

2.

110

Waste management and public-private partnership-integrating waste pickers’ cooperative in India

they could earn some more money.

Conclusion

Secret of success and survival is required significant capital
investment and this is important for the SWaCH as

KKPKP and SWaCH exemplify that waste pickers canmovement to spread its work in the world.

successfully defend their right to livelihoods and that they
can also be architects of a better future for themselves andChallenges:

society. SWaCH came into existence on the effort of theyears of organizational work and credibility achieved by・Scaling up

KKPKP, which brought to the development of theIt was also found that not all residents are happy to pay user

cooperative an insider’s knowledge of the realities of solid

fees. Many of them still subscribe to the idea that they pay

waste management. In a similar way, KKPKP led thetaxes so funding services such as waste collection should beprocess of countering privatization in Pune. It proposed andthe responsibility of the government. The number of users

pushed for an alternative that incorporated larger issues andwilling to pay a fee generally hits a plateau and from then on

processes that were consistent with its vision of operationally,

it becomes more difficult to convince the rest of customers tofinanciallypay for the service.

management that required the participation of workers and・Social Security

other residents. A recent unique effort initiated by SWaCH

Social protection benefits for SWaCH workers is an area thatbrought recyclable materials traders, the PMC and SWaCH

needs further exploration. Schemes for a package consisting

together on a common platform to deliberate on wasteof life and medical insurance and death and disability

management and recycling. The broad themes were issue of

benefits and old age pension will have to be prepared andreceipts to waste pickers; recording of quantities of materials

financed from the municipal budget.

traded and therefore diverted from landfills; annual bonuses

・Decentralising garbage processing

to informal sellers; and not employing/ buying from child

The processing of garbage at some plants, garbage vehicles

workers. KKPKP has asked for land to be reserved forentering the plants was stopped by the villagers. The PMC

recyclable materials markets and decentralized material

has asked the states for space to set up new garbage

recovery facilities in the development plan. There are muchprocessing plants. But it will take at least 18months to be

more difficult issues ahead to be solved, but SWaCH andoperational. New processing plants should be operational

other motivated and empowered workers surely will be ableurgently and innovative processing methods are required forto fight back those issues with their dedications.

plastic garbage which is getting increased rapidly in the city.

SWaCH is about transformation, transforming systems,

andenvironmentally

sustainable

waste

transforming perceptions and transforming lives.

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