Two months after the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (spla) allowed

Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of Kerala was once known as the cleanest city in India. Today, it is littered with garbage

All recycling in India is undertaken by (and via) the informal sector. This sector includes waste-pickers, small middlemen, transporters, larger middlemen and finally, reprocessors. These self-employed people play a very important role in urban waste management as they provide a service which the urban municipalities cannot provide given their current institutional framework.

Urban India is likely to face a massive waste disposal problem in the coming years. Traditionally, the problem of waste has been seen simply as one of cleaning and disposing. But a closer look at the current and future scenarios reveals that waste needs to be treated holistically, recognising its natural resources roots as well as its health impacts.