Improving Lives of Waste Pickers in India

Waste pickers earn their living by collecting solid waste and recovering reusable and recyclable materials, which are then sold to recyclers through intermediaries. Despite their economic and environmental contribution to cities, waste pickers are usually informal workers occupying the lowest rungs of urban society and struggling to lead healthy and productive lives. According to an unpublished study by FSG in 2020, there are about 22,500 to 35,000 waste pickers living in the Bengaluru municipal corporation region. The study finds that waste pickers belong to disadvantaged social groups and rarely complete education. Given that waste picking is largely unrecognized by law, waste pickers lack social protection and suffer from various forms of social and economic exclusion.

The Saamuhika Shakti initiative recognizes that complex interrelated social challenges, such as those faced by waste pickers, cannot be addressed sustainably through siloed intervention approaches. For instance, an education intervention focused on girls in waste picker households – without simultaneously addressing social exclusion, poor water, sanitation and hygiene, substance abuse and domestic violence – may not yield the desired outcomes. A multi-pronged initiative can better address systemic exclusions and contribute to improving the welfare of waste pickers in Bengaluru.

Understanding intervention geographies is critical to designing an impact evaluation of the Saamuhika Shakti initiative. 3ie, in consultation with Saamuhika Shakti partners, led a mapping exercise to list waste-picker localities in Bengaluru and identify the pockets where partners were implementing interventions. The exercise highlighted limited geographical overlap across various interventions and generated important learning around planning and roll-out of the initiative. The locality mapping database is now being used by partners to coordinate community outreach and improve layering of interventions in future.

Read more about partner interventions below.

Saamuhika Shakti intervention domains

Phase 1

This phase of the program extended until December 2023. 3ie collaborated with ten well-established organizations - BBC Media Action, CARE India, Hasiru Dala, Sambhav by LabourNet, Bal Raksha Bharat (formerly known as Save the Children India), WaterAid India, Social Alpha, ENVIU, CAIF, and The/Nudge Foundation (T/NI) - to evaluate a holistic approach aimed at improving the living conditions of informal waste pickers.

Partner and meta theory of change (ToC)

To deepen 3ie’s understanding of the interventions and validate how they were structured to achieve their intended results, 3ie developed theories of change (ToCs) for all implementation partners except BBC Media Action and Social Alpha.

Between March and April 2021, 3ie held working sessions with partners to jointly develop and finalise the ToCs. The partner-level ToCs were later synthesised to create a meta theory of change for the Saamuhika Shakti initiative, highlighting the key pathways through which the program aims to achieve its outcomes.

Baseline report

Between 2021 and 2022, 3ie collected baseline data from approximately 3,000 waste picker and non-waste picker households across 70 localities in Bengaluru. The survey gathered detailed information across multiple areas, including labour market participation, education, health, WASH, gender, income, collective participation, and social and financial security.

Thematic papers

In addition to the baseline report, 3ie used the baseline dataset to analyse early patterns related to the Saamuhika Shakti interventions. The analysis found that exposure to two or more program interventions increased waste pickers’ participation in community collectives, improved access to social security schemes, and was associated with an increase in the number of savings accounts held.

In addition to this analysis, the team produced two thematic papers: 

•    Examining gender differences in outcomes
•    Female labour force participation.

Process evaluation

We also conducted a process evaluation to assess the implementation of the collective impact approach under the Saamuhika Shakti initiative, as well as overall program implementation and partner activities. 

Phase II

Phase-II aims to build upon the successes and insights gained during Phase-I with the support of new partners, including Udhyam Learning Foundation, Sparsha Trust, and Sattva Consulting, alongside eight of the Phase-I partner organizations.  In this phase, we will examine the impact of the Saamuhika Shakti initiative on a different set of outcomes for waste picker households in Bengaluru. The key research question that the impact evaluation will answer is – what is the effect of exposure to multiple partners versus a single or no partner(s) on a range of outcomes for waste picker households, including:

• Participation in skill training and labor force for improved income
• Access to social security benefits, loans and financial linkages  
• Participation in collectives (such as self-help groups, common interest groups)
• Improvement in health status & reduced health spending
• Better education for children, especially, girls
• Reduced violence, including domestic violence
• Dignity and social acceptance
• Improved access and use of WASH facilities