How Hyderabad’s informal recyclers became the backbone of a circular economy
Every day, thousands of informal waste workers divert tonnes of plastic from landfill — without a contract, a wage or a safety net. Here’s what we learned working alongside them.
How Hyderabad’s informal recyclers became the back…
The sun is barely up when Lakshmi begins her route through the bylanes of old Hyderabad. By 10 a.m. she will have walked 8 km, filled her sack with discarded plastic bottles, cardboard and metal, and hauled it to a scrap dealer who will pay her ₹15–20 per kilogram.
She is one of an estimated 15,000 informal recyclers in Hyderabad alone. Together they form a parallel waste management system that arguably does more for the city’s recycling rate than any municipal truck or private hauler.
The invisible workforce
India’s waste management rules (2016) formally recognise informal recyclers as partners. In practice, most operate outside formal systems — no ID cards, no access to protective gear, no health insurance, and no fixed income.
What they have is expertise. Decades of tacit knowledge about what materials hold value, which neighbourhoods yield the highest-grade plastic, and how to navigate a system that was never designed for them.
SVF began mapping informal recycler networks in 2022. The goal wasn’t to replace them but to connect them to formal recycling streams — providing consistent pricing, safe collection points, and recognition.
What we found
“The waste-picker is the most efficient recycler in the chain. No machine can match their sorting accuracy.”
— Facility manager, SVF MRF
Our survey of 420 informal recyclers across five zones of Hyderabad found:
- Average age: 38 years
- Average experience: 12 years in the trade
- Daily collection: 25–40 kg of recyclable material
- Contamination rate: under 5% (compared to 25–35% for kerbside mixed collections)
The informal sector already achieves recycling rates that formal systems aspire to. The question isn’t whether they’re effective. It’s whether we’re willing to pay them fairly for the service they provide.
From exclusion to integration
Our integration model has three components:
- Registration and identity: Every recycler we work with receives an SVF ID card, enabling access to our MRF and community drop-points at fair-market prices.
- Safe collection infrastructure: We’ve set up 12 neighbourhood collection points where recyclers can bring material, use a wash station, and get paid same-day via UPI.
- Health and dignity: Monthly health check-ups, gloves and masks, and children’s education support through our school partnerships.
Early results
In the first year of the programme:
- 4,800 tonnes additional material diverted to recycling
- 62% increase in daily income for registered recyclers
- Zero workplace injury incidents among registered members
What’s next
We’re expanding the model to three more cities in Telangana. But integration at scale needs policy. We’re working with the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation to include informal recyclers in the city’s formal waste management contracts — a move that could transform the economics of recycling in urban India.
Circular economy isn’t about better bins. It’s about better systems that value the people already making them work.
Priya Sharma
Field Coordinator
Priya Sharma is part of the SVF team working on the frontlines of plastic recovery and circular economy in Hyderabad.
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