Waste Picker Organizing, Delhi

In most Indian cities about one percent of the population recycles waste for a living. With 20 million inhabitants, Delhi produces 8,000 tonnes of waste per day. 40,000 waste pickers and 150,000 recyclers, all from the poorest sectors, keep the city clean and livable, saving almost a million tons of CO2 annually. Safai Sena is a registered group of 12,000 waste pickers and doorstep waste collectors that service 200,000 households in New Delhi. This site visit was to gain an understanding of how this coalition of informal workers organized to be formally recognized as important urban actors by the government.