Assam Village Starts Smart Waste Model

Women in an Assam village have started a new waste management system to stop pollution from a local market. Local Self-Help Groups worked with the village panchayat to build a community storage space using money collected from residents. This project runs without any government help by renting out the storage space to farmers and traders during harvest time.

How The System Works

All the money collected from rent goes into a village sanitation fund. This money is used to buy battery-operated carts, safety gear, and to pay monthly wages to sanitation workers. Households and market vendors must separate their waste into wet and dry waste. Organic waste is turned into fertilizer for paddy fields, while plastic and metal are sent to regional recyclers.