Segregation Of Waste For Recycling And Treatment (S.O.R.T)

Solid waste management in many Indian cities, especially the larger metros, remains one of the biggest environmental issues to deal with. The situation is worsened by the lack of a structured waste management plan and weak stakeholder involvement in systematizing waste collection and disposal — resulting in thousands of crores of rupees spent every year on the collection and transportation of municipal solid waste. There is therefore a need for out-of-the-box thinking and action for efficient solid waste management in any city — one that engages every stakeholder, from waste generation through collection to disposal, and treats waste management as a shared civic responsibility.

IPCA, in collaboration with SLMTT under its CSR initiative, launched Project S.O.R.T. (Segregation of Waste for Recycling and Treatment) as a pilot project to bring about behaviour change among residents of Delhi NCR — encouraging waste segregation to boost recycling rates while treating organic waste locally to reduce the burden on landfills. The initiative was also designed to increase the per capita income of waste pickers through the sale of compost generated from Aerobins. The overwhelming response from Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) motivated the team to scale the initiative with larger targets, engage new stakeholder groups, and extend the project to other major cities: Mumbai, Pune, and Bengaluru.

Project S.O.R.T. Phase I was piloted in November 2018 by SLMTT and IPCA across 9 locations in Delhi NCR, aiming to drive behaviour change among residents — encouraging waste segregation, local recycling and treatment, reduced landfill burden, and higher incomes for waste pickers. The overwhelming RWA response led to Phase II (April 2019–March 2020, extended to May 2021 due to COVID-19), expanding to Gurugram and Ghaziabad and covering 12 RWAs, 3 colleges, 2 schools, and 1 corporate. Building on Phase I and II's combined 26 locations, the project scaled through Phase III (30 societies), Phase IV (53), Phase V (120), and Phase VI (150), and is now in Phase VII with a target of 151 locations. Fully recognized by government authorities, S.O.R.T. was extended PAN-India to Mumbai (now in Phase IV, targeting 100 locations after Phases I–III of 10, 30, and 50), Pune (now in Phase IV, targeting 83 after Phases I–III of 20, 40, and 66), and Bengaluru (Phase II extended to 61 locations after Phase I's 20).

Impact

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