We don’t manage waste.
We design it out.
Social Lab partners with municipalities, CSR organisations and international development bodies to design and run circular waste-management systems — from baseline assessment to GPS-tracked 100% collection, processing and independent impact evaluation.
Municipalities & organisations we've delivered with
How circularity gets built
a connected loop where every stage feeds the next, and material is designed to return to use.
- 01 AssessBaseline study of a city or ward’s waste system to find the gaps that matter.
- 02 EngageIEC campaigns shift household behaviour and segregation at source.
- 03 CollectGPS-enabled, route-optimised door-to-door 100% collection coverage.
- 04 IntegrateFormal recognition, social security and recovery income for waste pickers.
- 05 ProcessComposting, material recovery and processing that closes the loop.
- 06 MeasureM&E and impact studies prove what changed — and what to scale.
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Circular-economy projects with measured outcomes
Urban SWMTransforming Rahuri — A Model for Sustainable Solid Waste Management
In Rahuri, Social Lab helped build a model SWM system — achieving 100% door-to-door collection with GPS-enabled route monitoring, training 105+ safai karmacharis and reaching 35,000+ citizens through awareness drives.
Urban SWMCreating a Garbage-Free Slum in Wadarwadi
In Wadarwadi, a densely populated slum under Pune’s Shivajinagar ward, Social Lab, PMC and PPCR ran the “Garbage-Free Wadarwadi” pilot — lifting waste collection from 18% to 82% and clearing all three chronic garbage spots in three months.
Urban SWMTransforming Solid Waste Management at Dwarka, Gujarat
In Dwarka, Gujarat, Social Lab worked with sampurnEarth and TCSRD to strengthen door-to-door collection, target 80%+ source segregation and build waste-picker capacity — reaching 14,500+ citizens and launching Gujarat’s first Precious Plastic Lab.
Urban SWMCommunity-Driven Waste Management in Deolali Pravara
In Deolali Pravara, Social Lab used a Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) approach to mobilise the community for waste management — eliminating 8 Garbage Vulnerable Points and resolving 100+ complaints via the Swachhta App.
Net Zero & RuralBuilding a Net-Zero, Climate-Resilient Mandede Village
In Mandede village (Taluka Mulashi, Pune), Social Lab worked toward net zero and climate resilience — reaching 66.6% source segregation and reducing 40.8 tonnes of GHG emissions in three months, with a yearly reduction potential of 188.3 tonnes.
LivelihoodsIntegrating Waste Pickers at the Baramati MRF
At the Baramati MRF, Social Lab integrated 45 waste pickers into formal resource recovery — issuing ID cards, securing E-Shram registration and life insurance, and raising average monthly income from ₹8,400 to ₹13,604.
Urban SWMEvaluation of the Solid Waste Management Project at Dharamshala
In Dharamshala — a tourist-heavy Himachal city battling trail littering and forest dumping — the H T Parekh Foundation backed Waste Warriors Society to overhaul solid waste management. Social Lab conducted the independent impact evaluation: source segregation rose from 0% to ~79% in the model wards, 312.8 MT of dry waste was diverted from landfill, and the city climbed from 629th (2020) to 86th (2022) in the national Swachh Survekshan rankings.
Plastic CircularityPlastic Circular Cities — Nashik
For the Plastic Circular Cities Project in Nashik, Social Lab (with sampurnEarth and the India Sanitation Coalition) surveyed 769 stakeholders across two city zones to map the waste ecosystem and inform an inclusive, resilient plastic-circularity strategy.
Plastic CircularityPlastic Circular Cities — Nagpur
For the Plastic Circular Cities Project in Nagpur, Social Lab (with sampurnEarth and the India Sanitation Coalition) assessed the existing SWM system across three components — operations, waste assessment and stakeholder engagement — to identify intervention areas for inclusive, resilient waste ecosystems.
Plastic CircularityGoa’s Path to Plastic Circularity
Social Lab partnered with the Goa State Pollution Control Board and GIZ to chart Goa’s path to plastic circularity — assessing the state’s Plastic Waste Management and EPR implementation and integrating national and global best practices into a roadmap.
ResearchSingle-Use Plastics Value-Chain Assessment
For GIZ, Social Lab assessed the value chain of single-use plastics (SUPs) and their alternatives across two cities in Maharashtra and two in Tamil Nadu — covering manufacturing emissions, facility data and challenges.
ResearchImpact Evaluation of a Decentralized Solid Waste Management Project
Social Lab independently evaluated a CSR-funded decentralized solid waste management project — assessing its implementation and the environmental and social impact created, through a structured three-phase methodology.
Capacity BuildingEmpowering Safai Karmacharis through Capacity Building
Social Lab ran NSDC-aligned capacity-building workshops for sanitation staff (safai karmacharis) across 20 locations, training over 1,753 participants in cleaning techniques, PPE, teamwork, communication and documentation.
Capacity BuildingULB Capacity Building for the Urban–Rural Nutrient & Carbon Cycle
Social Lab assessed existing wet-waste and composting practices across 12 Urban Local Bodies in Maharashtra, then built capacity through SOP workshops and handholding to move them toward HARIT compliance.
CompostingTurning Waste Into Wealth — City Compost Business Models for ULBs
For GIZ, Social Lab developed sustainable city-compost business models for ULBs in Maharashtra — a scalable compost-marketing model across four cities, integrating Harit branding, FCO-compliant quality assurance, logistics and farmer-market engagement.
CompostingSowing Sustainability — FPOs Turning Waste into Wealth with City Compost & Biochar
For GIZ, Social Lab ran a knowledge-sharing and capacity-building programme reaching 37 Farmer Producer Organisations across 6 districts — engaging 77 participants to implement biochar and city-compost models that turn waste into agricultural wealth.
Circularity links the whole system
City programmes connect to recycled-material supply, producer compliance and the data that proves impact.
The specialists behind this service
Planning a city or CSR waste programme?
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