Hello! I am Sughandhabai. I am a waste picker, and a SWaCH member.
This is my page and I want to use this space to introduce you to my friends and to the work that we all do. Actually, you’ve probably seen me dozens of times in your neighbourhood – but we never had time to talk, did we? So let’s talk now! You probably have questions – for example, what exactly do SWaCH members do? Well, I can answer that easily! Just come with me as I take you through a typical day…
6:00 AM
A SWaCH member’s normal work day begins at 6.00 am or earlier. She sets off to work after finishing her daily chores of cooking, cleaning and washing.
8:00 AM
She reports to her work place at around 8:00 AM and ensures that her daily attendance is recorded by the supervisor.
9:00 AM
From 9.00 AM to 1.00 PM she goes door to door and collects waste from citizens. In some places, she collects the waste at the gate. In others, she has to go from house to house, or up and down the steps in high-rise apartment buildings. She segregates wet and dry waste as she collects it.
10:00 AM
Your waste picker often has to push her cart over steep slopes and narrow lanes, over uneven roads and even through dangerous traffic.
12:00 PM
SWaCH has provided driving training to some of the members – like the one in this picture who drives the collection tempo. The SWaCH waste collector also hands over the segregated wet/dry waste to the ‘ghanta gaadi’ – the corporation’s collection truck. She needs to be very fit to climb up on to the truck and hoist those heavy buckets!
1:00 PM
After handing over the waste to the truck, it is time to wash and have lunch. Some time to talk and laugh before the afternoon’s tasks.
2:00 PM
Afternoon is sorting time! Space is always a constraint. Sometimes the waste collector sits within housing societies… or in a designated, sheltered sorting area. But these spaces are rare to find, so the majority of waste pickers sit on the roadside, or under trees or next to containers, to sort dry waste — completely exposed to the elements at all times! Sometimes, the waste picker creatively makes her own shelter and storage space.
3:00 PM
Here, she sorts waste into several categories – like plastic, paper/cardboard, cloth, leather, metal, etc. Each of these categories gets further sub-divided according to its recyclability and the use it will be put to later – and you have to be an expert to do this fine sorting! For example, let’s take plastic. The plastic we throw away is carefully divided into:
- Main : All kinds of coloured plastic bags.
- Kadkadi : PET bottles, Bisleri bottles, plastic jars, ice creams cups, etc.
- Phuga : dirty/broken plastic bottles, low grade plastic, broken plastic toys, Parachute oil bottles, Head and Shoulders shampoo bottles, etc.
Each is kept in a different pile to be later sold to the scrap dealer who offers different rates for different kinds of waste.
5:00 PM
After sorting dry waste for over 3 hours, it is bundled up and stored. About once a week, it is taken to the scrap dealer and sold. The waste picker has to make sure that the scrap shop owner weighs correctly and gives a fair price for the scrap. SWaCH has been in a dialogue with scrap shop owners to ensure a more cooperative working relationship.
6:00 PM
Whew! The day is finally over and its time to go back home to the family… to cook, clean, fill water and hopefully – rest!
