PMC gives nod to SWaCH contract

PUNE: Relenting to pressure from social worker Baba Adhav, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has finally given its nod to continuing the contract with SWaCH for door-to-door garbage collection

PUNE: Relenting to pressure from social worker Baba Adhav, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has finally given its nod to continuing the contract with SWaCH for door-to-door garbage collection. The standing committee of the civic body on Tuesday gave its permission to continue the contract with SWaCH. SWaCH is a cooperative model that emerged in Pune city, and has garnered appreciation from all over the country.

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Hemant Rasne, chairman of the standing committee of the PMC, said, “We gave our nod for the SWaCH proposal. Earlier, social leader Baba Adhav agitated for it and even held a meeting with corporation officials.” Mayor Murlidhar Mohol said, “We put forth a clear proposal in front of the standing committee and got a nod on Tuesday.”

With the earlier agreement between the PMC and SWaCH having ended, the corporation was initially planning to appoint a private contractor for door-to-door garbage collection but later decided to keep that on hold. In 2005, a pilot programme implemented by the Kagad Kach Patra Kashtakari Panchayat in collaboration with the department of adult education of the SNDT Women’s University enabled 1,500 waste-pickers to become service providers and collect door-to-door waste from households in Pune city. This improved their working conditions and livelihoods considerably while also bridging the gap between the households and the municipal waste collection service. The pilot became operational in 2006 and SWaCH was formed in 2007.

In 2008, the PMC signed a five-year agreement with SWaCH for decentralised door-to-door waste collection from households, shops, offices and small commercial establishments, renewing it in 2016. The members of the cooperative work in pairs and are in charge of door-to-door waste collection for about 200 to 250 households. The waste-pickers collect segregated waste (separated as wet or organic and dry namely, plastic, glass, paper etc.) from households and commercial establishments. They further separate it as recyclables to be sold in the recycling market and non-recyclables to be dropped off at feeder points. The model is energy-efficient and benefits the environment as SWaCH waste-pickers recycle the waste and reduce the quantity of waste sent to landfills.