A Circular Approach to Waste Management in Urban India
Our project in Gurgaon in the North of India is trying to showcase the power of market mechanisms to provide Viability Gap Funding (VGF) for micro-level circular economy building by transforming household waste into compost. Through proper waste segregation and efficient composting, we are diverting organic waste from landfills, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and conserving landfill space. The resulting nutrient-rich compost enhances soil health, reducing reliance on synthetic fertilizers. By providing subsidized compost, we encourage sustainable gardening, promoting a healthy urban habit of sustainable growing. This initiative hence aims to demonstrate the potential of community-based waste management to create a more resilient urban ecosystem.
Gurgaon, India
Project Location: Gurgaon, India
Compost Produced: 173 tonnes
Traditional, centralized approaches often prove inadequate in addressing the complexities of modern waste streams. A paradigm shift towards a circular economy and decentralized waste management offers a promising avenue for mitigating environmental impact as well as showcase the importance of environmental action for the urban youth. Our small-scale project aims to showcase micro but impactful efforts towards reducing pollution, improving public health, and creating healthy urban spaces. By encouraging urban gardening using compost, we are fostering and hoping for more community stewardship and responsibility in the future.
The city of Gurgaon suffers from alarming levels of air pollution during the winter months. This problem gets compounded by a lack of good waste disposal methods. This program hence becomes crucial for promoting a cleaner air and better living conditions for the city and its people. Healthy living starts with a clean environment and this program goes some way in addressing that.
We have collected and effectively managed Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) from 23 Housing Societies in Gurgaon, diverting it from landfills and transforming it into valuable compost. This has reduced the environmental impact of waste disposal and promoted sustainable waste management in the region. A total of 1,544 tonnes of MSW has been diverted from landfills through our project. This might seem small in the bigger scheme of things, but the carbon revenue derived will spur more housing societies into action and therein we hope lies the power of market mechanisms in aiding adoption.
By producing high-quality compost, we aim to promote the tenet of responsible consumption and production. Our project has converted waste into a valuable resource, contributing to a more sustainable and circular way of dealing with household waste. A total of 173 tonnes of compost has been produced, in the first year of operation, demonstrating the power of micro-led initiatives.
Through our first monitoring and verification exercise, we have achieved some impressive results in mitigation outcomes. In this current monitoring period, our project has successfully reduced a substantial tonnage of 229 CO2e, which goes a long way in demonstrating that these kinds of programs can achieve scale if carbon finance support flows in.
Resident
Gurgaon, Haryana, India
