Wastu

Waste pickers form an essential component of urban waste management in India and many other developing countries. Members of this socially and economically marginalized community sort through garbage waste to separate plastics from the organics and are often exposed to extremely unsanitary conditions. They sell the plastic to local scrap dealers but are inadequately compensated for their important work.

The Wastu Initiative works collaboratively with waste picker co-operatives by leveraging low-cost, distributed production units at local dumpsites. Plastic waste collected from the area is cleaned, injection moulded and assembled into a variety of different products by the waste-pickers themselves. The products are then sold to corporate and individual customers, creating a source of income for the waste-pickers at the grassroots and driving upward mobility for the community.