'Eco-friendly': 58% of Delhi's 2 lakh waste pickers move in cycles to collect waste

Counterview Desk

Safai Sena, in partnership with Chintan Environmental Research and Action Group* and Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC), organized a cycle rally on November 16 in New Delhi as an awareness campaign to reduce air pollution and create safe spaces for cyclists and pedestrians on the road.

A note prepared by Safai Sena representatives A Manwara Begum and B Jaiprakash Choudary, and Chintan representatives Shruti Sinha points to why waste pickers, kabaris and junk dealers, who move around in cycles for earning their livelihood are more eco-friendly.

Text:

As air pollution is on the rise and vehicular pollution from motorized transport is one of the biggest recognized causal factors, we believe that in order to promote better air quality and make cities more liveable we need better data-driven decisions based on the latest scientific studies.

Emissions from vehicular pollution are believed to be one of the major contributors to pollution in Delhi. As per the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), vehicular emissions are responsible for 40% of the pollution in the National Capital.

Studies done by the Tata Energy Research Institute (TERI) also show that the transport sector is the main source of PM2.5 emissions in Delhi (28 percent of all PM2.5 emissions). Vehicular contribution also makes up 80 percent of nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide in Delhi’s air.
In an article in The Lancet on health impact, alternate transport scenarios were estimated in cities like London and Delhi. It was found that, for Delhi, cleaner motor vehicles and increased active travel scenarios (walking and cycling) resulted in a greater health gain from reduced air pollution.
According to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, persons killed in non-motorized transport in the years 2018 and 2019 were 3585 and 11242 respectively. Pedestrians, cyclists and other non-motorised vehicles accounted for 27.3% of all road accident deaths in the year 2019.

To quote the World Health Organization, our roads are "particularly unsafe for pedestrians, cyclists who, without the protective shell of a car around them, are more vulnerable. These road users need to be given increased attention. While progress has been made towards protecting people in cars, the needs of these vulnerable groups of road users are not being met.”
More than two lakh waste pickers are involved in managing 20-25% waste generated in Delhi from door-to-door collection to recycling and recovering of waste. The mode of waste collection is mostly cycles (58%), followed by walking (24%) and rickshaws (18%).

The average distance travelled by waste pickers using these three environmentally friendly modes of transport is 11-16 km each day. They are not only contributing for a cleaner planet but saving the climate by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and act as mitigators of climate change. Safai Sena, a collective of waste pickers, kabari’s, recyclers, and junk dealers demand:

Cycling lanes to be provided to promote the culture of cycling
Space be provided for parking of cycles, handcarts and rickshaws at residential and non-residential areas
Free passes to be given for cycle, handcart, and rickshaw so that waste pickers continue to keep the planet clean without any problem.
Subsidy by the government should be provided to informal sector workers on cycles, handcarts, and rickshaws

---
*Safai Sena is a registered collective of waste pickers, door-to-door waste-pickers, kabaris, junk dealers, other small buyers, small scrap dealers, and other types of recyclers; Chintan Environmental Research and Action Group is an independent, non-profit, non-government organization working in the field of sustainability and environmental justice for the past 20 years

Comments

The silencing of conscience: Ideological attacks on India’s judiciary and free thought

By Sunil Kumar* “Volunteers will pick up sticks to remove every obstacle that comes in the way of Sanatan and saints’ work.” — RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat (November 6, 2024, Chitrakoot) Eleven months later, on October 6, 2025, a man who threw a shoe inside the Supreme Court shouted, “India will not tolerate insults to Sanatan.” This incident was not an isolated act but a continuation of a pattern seen over the past decade—attacks on intellectuals, writers, activists, and journalists, sometimes in the name of institutions, sometimes by individual actors or organizations.

Citizens’ group to recall Justice Chagla’s alarm as India faces ‘undeclared' Emergency

By A Representative In a move likely to raise eyebrows among the powers-that-be, a voluntary organisation founded during the “dark days” of the Indira Gandhi -imposed Emergency has announced that it will hold a public conference in Ahmedabad to highlight what its office-bearers call today’s “undeclared Emergency.”

N-power plant at Mithi Virdi: CRZ nod is arbitrary, without jurisdiction

By Krishnakant* A case-appeal has been filed against the order of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) and others granting CRZ clearance for establishment of intake and outfall facility for proposed 6000 MWe Nuclear Power Plant at Mithi Virdi, District Bhavnagar, Gujarat by Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) vide order in F 11-23 /2014-IA- III dated March 3, 2015. The case-appeal in the National Green Tribunal at Western Bench at Pune is filed by Shaktisinh Gohil, Sarpanch of Jasapara; Hajabhai Dihora of Mithi Virdi; Jagrutiben Gohil of Jasapara; Krishnakant and Rohit Prajapati activist of the Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has issued a notice to the MoEF&CC, Gujarat Pollution Control Board, Gujarat Coastal Zone Management Authority, Atomic Energy Regulatory Board and Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) and case is kept for hearing on August 20, 2015. Appeal No. 23 of 2015 (WZ) is filed, a...

History, culture and literature of Fatehpur, UP, from where Maulana Hasrat Mohani hailed

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* Maulana Hasrat Mohani was a member of the Constituent Assembly and an extremely important leader of our freedom movement. Born in Unnao district of Uttar Pradesh, Hasrat Mohani's relationship with nearby district of Fatehpur is interesting and not explored much by biographers and historians. Dr Mohammad Ismail Azad Fatehpuri has written a book on Maulana Hasrat Mohani and Fatehpur. The book is in Urdu. He has just come out with another important book, 'Hindi kee Pratham Rachna: Chandayan' authored by Mulla Daud Dalmai.' During my recent visit to Fatehpur town, I had an opportunity to meet Dr Mohammad Ismail Azad Fatehpuri and recorded a conversation with him on issues of history, culture and literature of Fatehpur. Sharing this conversation here with you. Kindly click this link. --- *Human rights defender. Facebook https://www.facebook.com/vbrawat , X @freetohumanity, Skype @vbrawat

Celebrating 125 yr old legacy of healthcare work of missionaries

Vilas Shende, director, Mure Memorial Hospital By Moin Qazi* Central India has been one of the most fertile belts for several unique experiments undertaken by missionaries in the field of education and healthcare. The result is a network of several well-known schools, colleges and hospitals that have woven themselves into the social landscape of the region. They have also become a byword for quality and affordable services delivered to all sections of the society. These institutions are characterised by committed and compassionate staff driven by the selfless pursuit of improving the well-being of society. This is the reason why the region has nursed and nurtured so many eminent people who occupy high positions in varied fields across the country as well as beyond. One of the fruits of this legacy is a more than century old iconic hospital that nestles in the heart of Nagpur city. Named as Mure Memorial Hospital after a British warrior who lost his life in a war while defending his cou...

World Bank arm accused of hiding crucial report on Gujarat’s Tata Mundra power project

By A Representative The Centre for Financial Accountability (CFA) has accused the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO), the accountability arm of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), of concealing crucial evidence related to the Tata Mundra coal power project in Gujarat during the period when the case was being heard in U.S. courts. In a press statement released on October 10, 2025, CFA said that the CAO’s final monitoring report, which was completed in 2019 but released only in September 2025, revealed that IFC had failed to take remedial action for years, even as environmental and livelihood harms to local communities worsened.

New RTI draft rules inspired by citizen-unfriendly, overtly bureaucratic approach

By Venkatesh Nayak* The Department of Personnel and Training , Government of India has invited comments on a new set of Draft Rules (available in English only) to implement The Right to Information Act, 2005 . The RTI Rules were last amended in 2012 after a long period of consultation with various stakeholders. The Government’s move to put the draft RTI Rules out for people’s comments and suggestions for change is a welcome continuation of the tradition of public consultation. Positive aspects of the Draft RTI Rules While 60-65% of the Draft RTI Rules repeat the content of the 2012 RTI Rules, some new aspects deserve appreciation as they clarify the manner of implementation of key provisions of the RTI Act. These are: Provisions for dealing with non-compliance of the orders and directives of the Central Information Commission (CIC) by public authorities- this was missing in the 2012 RTI Rules. Non-compliance is increasingly becoming a major problem- two of my non-compliance cases are...

When communities lead: The story of Puttenahalli lake restoration in Bengaluru

By Alejandra Amor, Mansee Bal Bhargava The tropical Indian ecology pushed communities to develop the art and science of rainwater collection since antiquity. Traditionally, harvesting rainwater through ponds, lakes, and wetlands formed an integral part of a holistic water system that included rivers, canals, wells, aquifers, and springs. These decentralized systems sustained irrigation, livestock, and domestic needs in rural areas, supported by generations of community water management practices embedded in both utilitarian and ritualistic values.

Epic war against caste system is constitutional responsibility of elected government

Edited by well-known Gujarat Dalit rights leader Martin Macwan, the book, “Bhed-Bharat: An Account of Injustice and Atrocities on Dalits and Adivasis (2014-18)” (available in English and Gujarati*) is a selection of news articles on Dalits and Adivasis (2014-2018) published by Dalit Shakti Prakashan, Ahmedabad. Preface to the book, in which Macwan seeks to answer key questions on why the book is needed today: *** The thought of compiling a book on atrocities on Dalits and thus present an overall Indian picture had occurred to me a long time ago. Absence of such a comprehensive picture is a major reason for a weak social and political consciousness among Dalits as well as non-Dalits. But gradually the idea took a different form. I found that lay readers don’t understand numbers and don’t like to read well-researched articles. The best way to reach out to them was storytelling. As I started writing in Gujarati and sharing the idea of the book with my friends, it occurred to me that while...

Search This Blog