SWaCH-PMC Partnership

In 2005, Kagad Kach Patra Kashtakari Panchayat in collaboration with SNDT’s Department of Adult Education implemented a pilot program to upskill 1,500 waste-pickers as service-providers for door-to-door collection (DTDC) of household waste. This pilot not only improved livelihoods and work conditions, it also bridged the gap between households and the municipal waste-collection service. SWaCH Pune Seva Sahakari Sanstha was formed in 2007 from this very program.

In 2008, the PMC made a five-year agreement with SWaCH to decentralize DTDC services, wherein cooperative members collect segregated waste from >2000 households. The non-recyclable garbage is further segregated for sale, while the wet/organic and non-recyclable waste is dropped off at PMC ‘feeder points,’ from where it is collected by the municipal garbage trucks and sent to the landfill.

This saves the PMC Rs. 20 crore per annum in waste-handling costs alone. The model is energy-efficient and environmentally beneficial as SWaCH waste-pickers recycle and reduce the quantity of waste sent to landfills. This in turn reduces carbon and other greenhouse gas emissions responsible for global warming. SWaCH collects >850 tonnes of municipal solid waste (MSW) per day, of which ~150 tonnes is recycled and ~130 tonnes is composted.

E-waste collection and disposal

In 2012, the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board authorized SWaCH to collect and channelize e-waste as per the E-Waste (Management) Rules, 2012. If disposed improperly, used computers, cellphones, laptops and other waste electronics pose a grave threat to both humans and the natural environment. SWaCH has therefore set up e-waste collection bins in private and government organizations, schools and colleges, and residential societies and commercial establishments. Citizens can also drop off their e-waste at the SWaCH office in Kothrud Kachra Depot or the Loknete Sharadchandra Pawar Multipurpose Complex at Dhankawadi, or opt to have it collected directly from home.

Contact SWaCH today to conduct an e-waste collection drive and/or to set up a bin your society, school or organisation.