Collection System Being Employed in Waste Management - PowerPoint

							From Rags to Respect: the role of
a Ragpicker Cooperative in Pune's
   (India) household solid waste
        management system

           Dr. Patrick Kilby
     Australian National University
    Ragpickers in Pune the story from
    Discrimination, to Rights, to Social
                Enterprise
 Before 1995 rag-pickers were
  discriminated against and not seen
  as part of the waste management
  scene of Pune City.
 Post 1995 they formed Kagad
  Kach Patra Kashtakari Panchayat
  (KKPKP) – the association of
  ragpickers.
 Post 2007 they had Solid Waste
  Collection and Handling (SWaCH)
  for door-to-door collection
How Did they Get to Where They Are?

   The key is:
      Be comprehensive
      Be „ruthless‟ and ambitious
       in aspirations;
      To be ahead of the „game‟;


 Prior to 1990 not part of the Solid Waste System of the City, but
    rather as a hindrance to it;
 1995 set up informal-workers union, and fought for their rights to
    access to a safe work-place.
                Be Comprehensive

    As well as legitimacy
    and thus a secure income:
     Cooperative Waste Store;
     A seat at the table
     Children‟s education subsidy
     Insurance
     Credit Union
      Being „Ruthless‟ and Ambitious
   Three steps forward one backward:
     Setbacks and direct action
      – the credit union and insurance;
     SWaCH – ambition realised
      (being ahead of the game) – a two year struggle;
        The Ragpickers Now
SWaCH Services:
 daily door to door collection
  of segregated waste;
 V-Lift debris/tyres/garden
  waste/household
  hazardous waste/unwanted goods;
 U-Drop Fixed drop off-points in your neighbourhood where you
  may drop any kind of unwanted household goods;
 V-Compost - Creating and maintaining compost pits in your
  neighbourhood in a suitable space provided by you
 E-Collect - collecting electronic waste from households/shops
“Life as a waste picker has never been luxurious
but the Infosys work did transform my workday
and bring in a lot of stability. We ate at the
company canteen and had regular hours. Then
at the Union scrap store where I sold the scrap I
got 10-12 per cent of my annual earnings in the
profit distribution. I saved regularly in the credit
coop and took a loan of Rs.40,000 to buy a
small plot of land on which I constructed a little
two room house. My children are now in high
school because at KKPKP [the union] we insist
that children should pursue their education. Of
course I am still a working class person,
although I may have a few assets and my
lifestyle has improved, it‟s not like I mint money
and have moved up in life.”
- Chaya Manik Sontakke
             http://swachcoop.com/
SWaCH Coop is India‟s first wholly owned cooperative of self
employed rag pickers /waste collectors and other urban poor. It an
autonomous enterprise that provides front end waste management
services to the citizens of Pune. SWaCH is authorised to provide
door to door waste collection and other allied waste management
services by the Pune Municipal Corporation.
SWaCH is promoted by Kagad Kach Patra Kashtakari Panchayat
(KKPKP) that organised 6000+ rag pickers /waste collectors to work
with dignity and created a sustainable de-centralised, waste
management model in the country.
SWaCH bridges the garbage gap between your door and the PMC
collection points. SWaCH also offer total solutions for wet garbage
and dry garbage while enabling the rag pickers /waste collectors to
keep their livelihoods as well as get trained to carry out their work
professionally.
                   The Waterfall




'The Waterfall' a community sculpture was set up at the SWaCH
 office to signify the needless waste by way of un-recyclable drinking
 water bottles and to help spread awareness concerning solid waste
 management. The sculpture was conceptualised by Awanti Seth-
 Rabenhoej and made by members of SWaCH. The materials used
 were all discarded waste bottles of packaged water.