JOIN USHighlighting the role of ragpickers in recycling around 20 per cent of the total waste generated in the city, over 500 door-to-door garbage collectors from across Delhi will hold a rally this month-end.
An NGO, Chintan, and Safai Sena – a registered group of waste collectors – will start the march from Nepal embassy and reach Palika Bazar via Barakhamba Road.
“Things would be worse if it was not for the informal recycling sector – waste pickers, kabariwalas and recyclers. Swachh Bharat is not possible without them who play an important role in collection and recycling of waste,” said Chitra Mukherjee, outreach and advocacy manager at the NGO.
A Chintan study shows this group saves 3.6 more times green house gases in Delhi alone compared to any other waste project in India receiving carbon credits.
“Unfortunately, they are treated like the waste they handle, stigmatised and brutalised by society. Their health suffers and they suffer bites, allergies and humiliation by the municipal authorities,” the NGO said.
Chintan reports say 1.5 lakh such persons recycle at least 2,000 tonnes of paper, plastic, metals and glass daily.
“They save the civic agencies up to a crore a day,” Mukherjee said. They help in mitigation of emission of green house gases by 9,62,133 metric tonnes per year, she added. There are several rules and policies that recognise the informal sector.
These are the National Environment Policy (2006), The National Action Plan for Climate Change (2009), Plastic Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2011, E-waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2011.
“Including waste pickers in waste management systems in Delhi will not only let the city comply with established rules and policies, but also ensure stable livelihood for a large section of the urban poor,” Mukherjee said.
During the rally, waste pickers will raise slogans for a ‘cleaner India’ and they will hold banners and placards shedding light on the importance of door-to-door waste collectors in this work.
The waste pickers will also tie green ribbons on passersby and distribute leaflets with a message that “Swachh Bharat is not possible without them”.