In August 2006 BESTSELLER FUND started a solid waste management programme in Tranquebar in collaboration with INTACH. The idea was to improve the town and its sanitary conditions. First step was a solid waste management to improve the quality of the urban environment. A system of cleaning the streets in the neighbourhood and a door-to-door collection of segregated waste followed by recycling and composting the collected waste, was put in place.
Turning garbage into a livelihood
The first stage involved cleaning the streets, starting the process of cleaning the water reservoirs and making the area greener. In the second phase a Women Self-help Group began the door to door garbage collection and segregation of recyclable waste. The women also convert green waste to compost manure and manage the sale of recyclable waste. The women from the Self Help Groups now make a living with the solid waste management programme.
A role model for other panchayats
The project is a success, the streets are very clean, and the programme has been well received by the public. Tranquebar has also gotten media attention because it is now the cleanest panchayat in the whole state of Tamil Nadu. The waste project was by Tamil Nadu government declared the best waste programme in the state, and all 561 town panchayats has now implementing the solid waste management scheme with Tranquebar as a model.