Nirmalaya Collection

About Nirmalya to Nisarga

Waste picker led sustainable celebrations

Nirmalya to Nisarga, a waste picker led program elevating the culture of social celebration has instilled a behaviour change in Pune’s citizens to celebrate sustainably. From the last 15 years, it continues to bring together citizens and waste pickers during the most prominent annual festival and aims to cultivate the growth of Pune’s cultural identity.

The Ganesh Festival celebrated across the country as an annual social event finds its roots in Pune and the city’s rich history of reformers bringing social change. As a city scale event, the festival poses waste management related challenges specifically with respect to the immersion of statues, Nirmalya (organics like flowers, fruits and other offerings) and the dry waste (decoration, Thermocol, cardboard, paper, plastic etc.).

The SWaCH Cooperative in an attempt to improve waste-picker livelihoods while providing a sustainable solution for the challenges faced by the city, has conceptualised and operated a Nirmalya collection initiative at the Ghats of Pune in partnership with the PMC for over 15 years.

Since the pivotal year of 2009, the waste-pickers of SWaCH Cooperative, in close collaboration with the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), civil society organisations, and volunteers, embarked on this conservation effort for nature and culture both.
Every year, waste pickers collect up to 100 tons of Nirmalya, and divert up to 15 tons of dry recyclables presented by 5-6 lakh citizens at the prominently celebrated immersion ghats of Pune. It has become an integral part of immersion rituals for Punekars.

The program also highlights the long standing partnership between citizens and waste pickers, who collect waste from every doorstep in the city every day, stand unwaveringly alongside citizens every year during the city’s biggest festival to ensure cleanliness.

With Waste picker led Nirmalya to Nisarga, we make our city’s social celebrations responsible and sustainable.