A housing society’s journey towards responsible Waste Management
By Sumit Chandanshive, Project Coordinator
Across India, many urban housing societies still struggle with mixed waste. Recyclable materials like plastic, paper, cloth, e-waste and glass are often thrown together with general waste instead of being separated for recycling. This makes waste management difficult and increases the amount of waste sent for dumping. Neha Goyal, Chairman of Water Edge Society and associated with the Pimple Nilakh Residential Association (PNRA), decided that waiting for someone else to act was not the solution. She wanted residents to have a simple and convenient way to separate recyclable waste. Together with other like-minded residents, she initiated a cleanliness drive in her society and the surrounding areas. However, the effort was not without its challenges.
Challenges
- No regular system for waste collection and management.
- Outdoor bins exposed recyclable waste to rain.
- No fixed schedule for waste collection.
- Glass and some recyclables were not collected in a timely manner.
- Uncollected waste remained in societies for several days.
- No clear channel for recycling and further processing.
From Waste to Solutions
While exploring solutions with waste-management organisations and NGOs, the PNRA team came across Trash Tech. It raises awareness about different types of waste and the importance of segregation, while also collecting dry waste. Through these efforts, the initiative encourages people to see waste differently—as a resource rather than something to simply throw away.
The Trash Tech conducted awareness sessions with the members of the Water Edge Society. It provided a regular system for collecting and recycling waste from community bins and residential collection drives since July 2026. Here, the intervention expanded beyond bin collection to include recyclable materials handed over by residents during society-level collection activities.
- Approximately 10 community bins supported by the PNRA initiative.
- Weekly collection every Saturday.
- Collection from community bins and residential collection drives.
- Material-wise segregation to improve recovery and recycling.
- Regular coordination between PNRA/community and TrashTech.
Collection Partner — TrashTech
- TrashTech visits the society regularly to collect dry waste.
- Collects dry waste every Saturday and Sunday across Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation, and this network is now extending to NSG — giving more societies access to the same dependable service.
- It also offers a mobile app so individuals, societies and institutions can raise on-demand eco-pickup requests any time. (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.tanx.trashapp&pcampaignid=web_share)
Waste-to-Recycling Pathway
The intervention creates a clearer pathway for recyclable material from the point of disposal to recovery.
Change in segregation & disposal practices
- Before the intervention, residents had limited convenient options for disposing of certain recyclable materials.
- Materials could be mixed with general waste or remain stored because regular collection vehicles did not accept some categories.
- Trash Tech has introduced a more structured system in which recyclable materials are collected regularly and can be separated by material category.
- Residents have also started handing over old clothes and other recyclable materials through the collection system.
- From irregular disposal to a defined weekly collection mechanism.
- From mixed/accumulated recyclables to material-wise collection.
- From limited disposal options to a dedicated recycling pathway.
- From bins without a collection mechanism to a coordinated collection-and-recovery system.
Impact & Key Learning
- Approximately 3–4 tonnes of dry waste have been collected, with a current weekly collection of approximately 600–700 kg.
- The initiative strengthened community access to recycling, improved material-wise collection and created a more systematic route for recyclable waste to enter the recovery and recycling chain.
Feedback & Appreciation
“A big applause and thanks to the TrashTech team, our collection partner with Bisleri, for their continuous and valuable support in our efforts to make Pimple Nilakh cleaner and plastic-free.
TrashTech is supporting us in multiple ways — door-to-door dry waste collection, collection from the plastic bins installed across Pimple Nilakh, and awareness drives in societies and with housekeeping staff to promote proper waste segregation. At times, some of the footpath bins unfortunately contain mixed waste, including food waste, which makes collection and recycling challenging. Despite this, the team continues to support us and patiently works with us while we educate residents, shops and the public about proper segregation.
One small suggestion that could make the process even better is to have better tracking of collections — pending, scheduled/ordered and completed. This will help ensure that no collection is missed. Timely collection is important because when residents keep their segregated waste ready but do not get a collection as expected, it can sometimes discourage them from continuing to participate in the initiative.
Having said that, we are truly thankful to have such a supportive and cooperative team like TrashTech working with us. Their flexibility, patience and commitment are highly appreciated.
With a little improvement in coordination and tracking, I’m sure we can make this initiative even more effective and take a big step towards our goal of a Plastic-Free Pimple Nilakh. Thank you, TrashTech team, for standing with us in this initiative!” — Neha Goyal, Chairman
One Decision Can Start a Movement. If Neha Goyal Can Do It, So Can You.
Keywords: Waste Management, Waste Segregation, Dry Waste Collection, Plastic Recycling, Community Recycling, Zero-Waste Community, Circular Economy, Sustainable Communities
