Waste Reduction and Recycling

Increased urbanization across India has created a massive waste management challenge. The country generates 60 million tons of solid waste each year, and only a small fraction of this waste is collected and treated.

When waste is not disposed of properly, it can spread infectious diseases, pollute the air, and block local water source flow. Biowaste, properly processed, is an invaluable resource that is being squandered.

What we’re doing to help

VOICE Trust has partnered with the  Department of Environment, Government of Tamil Nadu, to help communities stop plastic pollution at its source, clean up improperly disposed of waste, and separate out and use biowastes valuable for sustainable farming.

Our activities include:

  • Plastics Reduction: We work closely with the Department of Environment, local communities, and student organizations to undertake hands-on plastic removal, hold workshops that focus on choosing alternative sustainable materials instead of plastics, and distribute hundreds of cloth bags to replace the more commonly used plastic ones.

  • Community clean-up: We hold regular Cleanliness Drives when we mobilize children from our Friendship Children’s home and from local schools to clean the streets of trash.

  • Dust to Dustbin Biowaste Recycling: VOICE Trust worked with Tamil Nadu’s Department of Environment to educate communities about the importance of cleaning waste off the streets and segregating biowaste for reuse. We have distributed hundreds of dustbins and thousands of informational brochures, and our workshops on converting biowaste to compost have allowed women’s enterprises to earn extra income of by selling the fertilizer they are then able to produce.