India’s waste economy runs on invisible workers. Climate policy keeps forgetting them

Category : Waste Management | Location : National  | Posted on 2026-05-18 09:46:07

Every morning, while the city is still slowly waking up, a woman walks along a familiar route. She navigates through narrow lanes, moving past trash bins to collect items that can still be sold, like plastic bottles, scraps of metal, cardboard, and glass. After carefully sorting through these items, she bags them up and takes them to a kabadiwalla, a local recycler. On a good day, she can earn between Rs 200 and Rs 400.

Source: https://www.downtoearth.org.in/waste/indias-waste-economy-runs-on-invisible-workers-climate-policy-keeps-forgetting-them