Community-Driven Neighbourhood Waste Segregation and Composting Platform

Objective: To enable residents of low- and middle-income Indian neighbourhoods to coordinate waste segregation and composting efforts for improved local sanitation and reduced landfill waste.

Urban and peri-urban communities in India often struggle with improper household waste segregation and lack of access to coordinated composting solutions, resulting in overflowing landfills, unhygienic conditions, and missed opportunities for organic waste recycling. These issues disproportionately affect lower and middle-income neighbourhoods, impacting public health and environmental quality, and align with SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities.

The proposed solution is a low-cost, mobile-first web application that empowers residents to self-organize for source segregation, schedule composting drives, and coordinate with local waste collectors and community volunteers. The platform leverages open data to map composting points and educates users on correct segregation practices, facilitating collective action for sustainable waste management.

Key features include resident and volunteer sign-up, hyperlocal group formation, push notifications for segregation schedules, real-time composting event tracking, a GIS-based map of community collection/composing sites using OpenStreetMap, impact dashboards, and feedback channels for local authorities. The working prototype will be tested in two target neighbourhoods, with user analytics and waste-diversion metrics collected.

Expected impact includes measurable increases in household waste segregation rates, reduced landfill-bound waste, and enhanced community participation. With open-source design and open-data integration, the platform can be scaled to other urban settlements, fostering self-sustaining, cleaner, and more resilient communities.