With no waste management or municipality trash pick up, three panchayats 3-4 km from Rishikesh in the Himalayas have suffered from pollution and piled up garbage that goes into the Ganges.  

Mr. Jitendra Kumar of the organization “Clean Himalaya” presented a solution to this problem at the IDM. He is running a small enterprise engaged in daily collection, sorting, recycling, and disposal of dry waste. User fees for domestic trash pick up and sale of recyclable waste cover the cost of these services.

Currently, he covers 25% of the Laksmanjula locality, but he wants to expand to cover a larger part of the area, and to include collection of organic waste as part of his services. If he wins an IDM grant, he says he will build a shelter to improve working conditions for his employees, and to protect the waste from rain, wind, and roaming animals. He also wants to buy a mini-carrier truck to transport the waste, build a vermin-composting unit, and to put together an incinerator with filer to burn non-recyclable waste.