Now, SWaCH waste pickers to finish work by 12 noon in keeping with Maha’s heatwave guidelines

Due to rising temperatures and waste collection delays, Pune's SWaCH waste pickers will finish work by noon, impacting collection timings.

Given that rising temperatures and delays in waste collection are putting thousands of waste pickers at risk, waste pickers associated with SWaCH – India’s largest waste picker-owned cooperative – will now finish their work by 12 noon, in keeping with the state government’s heatwave guidelines. Meanwhile, citizens may experience changes in waste collection timings, said officials.

With afternoon temperatures in Pune regularly exceeding 40°C this month, these delays are exposing waste pickers, the majority of them being women, to serious heat-related health risks. (HT)

The move comes after internal data from SWaCH revealed serious gaps in waste collection logistics across the city. Of Pune’s 1,018 feeder points or designated locations where waste pickers transfer wet and dry waste to municipal vehicles for further processing, 37% received collection vehicles late whereas at 10% of the feeder points, the vehicles did not arrive at all. With afternoon temperatures in Pune regularly exceeding 40°C this month, these delays are exposing waste pickers, the majority of them being women, to serious heat-related health risks. Following the state’s standard operating procedures (SOPs) mandating a halt to outdoor work between 12 pm and 4 pm for informal workers, SWaCH decided that its members will complete door-to-door waste collection in the morning and leave work by noon.

Neha Pawar, a waste picker from Dhole Patil Road, described her daily struggle. “We finish our work by 10.30-11 am, but the vehicles arrive at 2-3 pm. Till they come, we have no option but to wait in the Sun. There is no access to shade, clean water or toilets. We suffer twice — once from the heat, and again when we are blamed for garbage piling up,” she said.

While the change may lead to visible shifts in waste collection timings across neighbourhoods with garbage being collected earlier in the day and waste from feeder points being cleared later in the afternoon, based upon vehicle availability and processing capacity in the secondary collection system, SWaCH has assured that doorstep collection services will continue every morning without disruption.

SWaCH has also appealed to residents to support waste pickers during the ongoing heatwave. “Waste pickers are frontline workers performing physically demanding tasks in extreme conditions. A glass of water, access to toilets, or even a shaded place to sit can make a significant difference,” the organisation said.

SWaCH was formed in 2008 through a partnership between the Kagad Kach Patra Kashtakari Panchayat and the PMC. More than 4,000 waste pickers provide daily doorstep waste collection to nearly 40 lakh residents in Pune, while also earning a livelihood through recycling.