Multi-stakeholder Partnership for Managing Solid Waste: A Case Study of ITC Limited

Solid waste management is fast becoming an insurmountable challenge across urban India, requiring urgent solutions, especially in view of rapid urbanization and inability of local urban authorities to tackle it. In order to come up with viable solutions to this problem, ITC Limited has initiated public–private partnership initiatives in different parts of the country. For large cities with buyback opportunities, Well-Being Out of Waste programme is being designed, whereas for smaller towns and rural areas, decentralized waste management system is promoted. Integral to these models is involvement of rag-pickers in collection and processing, payment for these services by households, focus on source segregation and processing and close involvement of local bodies. This paper analyses approach of such decentralized models and challenges for scale up.