A city-wide collection system
An operational door-to-door collection mechanism across all 12 divisions, running round the clock so that waste does not accumulate even at peak load.
Solid waste management program (DCMC)
Solid waste operations for Dindigul City Municipal Corporation — door-to-door collection, source segregation, scientific disposal and drainage maintenance across the city’s 12 operational divisions.
12
Operational divisions
400
Sanitary workers deployed
86
Tonnes collected daily
110
Domestic Breeding Checkers
The project
Running an entire city's waste system
Project mission
Running the solid waste management programme for Dindigul City Municipal Corporation — door-to-door collection, source segregation, scientific disposal, drainage maintenance and the community awareness work that makes segregation stick.
Coodu Trust has been entrusted with the Solid Waste Management programme for the Dindigul City Municipal Corporation (DCMC). The city is divided into 12 operational divisions, each managed with a collection strategy tailored to the area, and a dedicated team of 400 sanitary workers collects door to door from households, streets and marketplaces. Waste is segregated at source into degradable and non-degradable, and an average of 86 tonnes a day is collected and disposed of scientifically. It marks the trust’s move from rural watershed work into urban environmental management, built on 25 years of community mobilisation.
Alongside collection, specialised teams clear silt deposits and garbage blockages from the city’s drains to prevent waterlogging, and the operation runs 24×7 so that waste is managed even at peak load. For the same client the trust also runs the Domestic Breeding Checker programme: 110 checkers carry out daily house-to-house inspections across Dindigul, destroying mosquito breeding sites in coolers, overhead tanks, flower pots, tins and tyres. A separate Material Recovery Facility, started by ITC Ltd, sorts household waste into wet and dry and sends baled paper and cartons to ITC’s recycling unit in Coimbatore.
- Door-to-door collection
- Segregation at source
- Scientific processing
- Dignified workforce
Why this work matters
The challenge on the ground — and our answer
The challenge
Uncollected waste ends up dumped or burned
Where collection is not systematic, household and market waste is dumped or burned uncontrolled — a major source of particulate matter and a standing public health risk.
Our response
Collection across all 12 divisions, round the clock
A door-to-door collection system covering households, streets and marketplaces in every division, with 400 sanitary workers handling 86 tonnes of waste a day, 24×7.
The challenge
Mixed waste that nothing can be recovered from
When degradable and non-degradable waste travel together, recyclables are contaminated and organics are unusable — and the whole load goes to the dump.
Our response
Segregation drives and a Material Recovery Facility
Awareness campaigns and door-to-door sensitisation with IEC materials push segregation at source, while the Material Recovery Facility started by ITC Ltd sorts dry waste and sends recyclable paper and cartons to ITC’s Coimbatore recycling unit.
At a glance
The essentials
- Client & our role
- Dindigul City Municipal CorporationCoodu Trust is entrusted with the implementation of the Corporation’s Solid Waste Management programme
- Period
- 2023–PresentRecorded in the 2023–24 and 2024–25 annual reports
- Coverage
- 12 operational divisionsDindigul city, Dindigul district, Tamil Nadu. The reports do not state a household count
- Workforce
- 400 sanitary workersDoor-to-door collection from households, streets and marketplaces, with segregation at source
- Scale
- 86 tonnes a dayCollected and processed daily; operations run 24×7, including at peak load
- Also for this client
- Domestic Breeding Checker programme110 checkers on daily house-to-house inspections against mosquito-borne disease
Outcomes
What the project changed
Less open dumping and burning
Systematic collection from households, streets and markets removes the waste that would otherwise be dumped or burned — a major source of particulate matter and a standing health hazard.
Cleaner drains, fewer mosquitoes
Drainage teams clear silt and garbage blockages to prevent waterlogging, and the 110-strong Domestic Breeding Checker team removes standing water from homes — together curtailing vector-borne disease in the city.
Get involved
Support cleaner cities
Join us in building waste management systems that keep cities clean, give sanitation workers dignified working conditions and move urban Tamil Nadu towards a circular economy.