The Solid Waste Management Round Table (SWMRT) is a collective of Solid Waste Management (SWM) practitioners that was formed in 2009. SWMRT embodies the spirit of voluntary engagement and participation driven by the passion and commitment of its members. The aim of the collective is to work towards the adoption of sustainable waste management practices by citizens and municipalities. Through these efforts, the goal is to improve public health, create solutions to grow safe food, and provide healthy soil, clean air, water, and inclusive livelihoods. SWMRT’s members have been able to motivate and infuse the same values in communities and networks that they engage with good outcomes.
The strategies to achieve these goals are embedded in SWMRT’s ideology;
- Mandate segregation at source and door-to-door collection
- Mandate destination-based waste stream collection and transportation
- Promote inclusion of the informal sector in recycling
- Promote measures for localized processing to minimize landfilling/ dumping
- Promote conversion of waste to compost/ biogas and not waste-to-burn technologies
- Phase out non-recyclable products and packaging and move towards a circular economy using the just transition principles
SWMRT is already engaging with citizen groups and NGOs from a number of cities through a platform where there is an informal exchange of information and practices being followed and discussions on a number of topics. At the same time, SWMRT is constantly receiving queries from citizen groups, and NGOs who would like to create an SWMRT-like structure in their cities to improve the levels of engagement with communities and their municipalities.
We are happy to partner with Rainmatter to create a wider reach and sustain existing efforts by:
- Identifying potential partners based on existing city engagements and inquiries from interested organizations
- Formalising a structure for setting up an SWMRT knowledge hub in partnership with these local partners
- Creating a knowledge exchange program either through forming a cadre of master trainers who will in turn use the learnings and start engaging with the communities and with their municipalities leading to meaningful outcomes or through subject matter workshops with commonly identified target groups
- Mentoring and facilitating the creation of campaigns and working models through pilots which will in turn lead to the scaling up at the city levels
- Creating website portals that will act as powerful resource support with advanced interactive features which provide information tool kits, business directories listing solutions, and service providers
- Setting up an SWM learning center modeled on the lines of the SwachaGraha Kalika Kendra which acts as a composting learning center, center for all information, education, and communication activities and a skilling center
(Points 1,2 and 3 will be achieved in the first phase, while 4,5 and 6 in the second phase)
Through the “Knowledge Circles” initiative, SWMRT will mentor citizen champions from various cities across India, who in turn will use the learnings and start engaging with communities and their municipalities leading to the adoption of sustainable waste management practices.