Cleaner cities
Daily door-to-door collection across 12 divisions of Dindigul keeps waste out of residential streets, markets and drains — and the operation runs 24×7, including at peak load.
Solid waste management
City-scale waste operations for Dindigul, and decentralised composting for panchayats — collection, source segregation, processing and disposal.
400
Sanitary workers deployed
86
Tonnes collected daily
12
Operational divisions, Dindigul
Understanding
What solid waste management means
What is solid waste management?
Solid waste management is the systematic handling of municipal waste from collection to final disposal — ensuring environmental sustainability and public health at every step.
Coodu Trust has been entrusted with the Solid Waste Management programme for the Dindigul City Municipal Corporation. The city is divided into 12 operational divisions, each with its own collection strategy, and a dedicated team of 400 sanitary workers collects door to door from households, streets and markets, segregating waste into degradable and non-degradable at source. An average of 86 tonnes of waste is collected and processed every day, and specialised teams clear silt and garbage from the city’s drains. The operation runs round the clock.
In the panchayats the model is decentralised. At Padappai Panchayat in Kancheepuram district, with the support of Renault P. Ltd, four to five tonnes of waste a day are collected from households and public spaces and processed through an ECOMAC decomposition machine that turns organic waste into compost for agricultural and horticultural use. In Dindigul, ITC Ltd has started Material Recovery Facility operations: household waste is segregated into wet and dry, and recyclable paper and cartons are baled and sent to ITC’s recycling unit in Coimbatore — seven metric tonnes of paper so far.
- Municipal waste operations
- Source segregation
- Composting & processing
- Zero-waste initiatives
Why this work matters
The challenge on the ground — and our answer
The challenge
Waste piling up in residential streets
Without reliable collection, municipal waste accumulates in residential areas — threatening public health across whole city wards.
Our response
Door-to-door collection at city scale
Daily collection from households, streets and markets across 12 operational divisions of Dindigul City Municipal Corporation — 86 tonnes of waste handled every day, round the clock.
The challenge
Mixed waste heads straight to landfill
When wet, dry and hazardous waste travel together, nothing can be recovered — and the landfill burden keeps growing.
Our response
Segregation at the source
Waste is separated into degradable and non-degradable at the household, backed by regular awareness campaigns and door-to-door sensitisation with IEC materials, so that what is collected can actually be recovered.
The challenge
Organic waste dumped instead of used
Wet waste that could feed farmland rots in dumps — wasted as a resource and polluting the environment.
Our response
Composting waste into value
At Padappai, the ECOMAC decomposition machine turns the organic share of four to five tonnes a day into compost that goes back to agriculture and horticulture — waste recycled into a useful product rather than landfilled.
The challenge
Sanitation work without safety or dignity
Waste work is too often done without proper equipment, training or care for the people who do it.
Our response
A trained workforce
400 sanitary workers deployed across Dindigul’s divisions, and at Padappai comprehensive training for sanitary workers — sweepers, drivers and helpers — in segregation, composting and safe waste handling.
At a glance
The essentials
- Recorded since
- 2005The trust’s first recorded solid waste work enabled a private enterprise serving the Koyambedu Market Complex, Chennai
- Coverage
- 12 divisions of Dindigul cityPlus Padappai Panchayat, Kancheepuram district; the reports do not state a household count for either
- Clients & funders
- Dindigul City Municipal Corporation, Renault P. Ltd, ITC LtdDCMC entrusts the municipal programme; Renault and ITC fund the panchayat and material recovery work
- Project portfolio
- 4 programmes, 2005–2025Two currently running, two closed
- Currently delivering
- Dindigul city waste operations86 tonnes a day across 12 divisions with 400 sanitary workers, 24×7
- Delivery model
- End-to-end operationsCollection, source segregation, processing, composting, drainage maintenance and scientific disposal
Track record
Project portfolio
| Programme | Period | Type | Highlights | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solid Waste Management programme, Dindigul City Municipal Corporation | 2023–2025 | Municipal programme | 12 divisions, 400 sanitary workers, 86 tonnes a day, drainage maintenance, 24×7 | Ongoing |
| Padappai Panchayat waste collection & composting | 2023–2024 | CSR partnership | Renault P. Ltd — 4 to 5 tonnes a day through an ECOMAC decomposition machine, with household and school awareness | Completed |
| Material Recovery Facility, Dindigul | 2024–2025 | CSR partnership | ITC Ltd — wet and dry segregation; 7 metric tonnes of paper waste sent to ITC’s Coimbatore recycling unit | Ongoing |
| Koyambedu Market Complex solid waste services, Chennai | 2005–2007 | Advisory | Our energy and environment services division enabled a private enterprise to deliver SWM services at the market complex | Completed |
Impact
What solid waste management changes
Less landfill burden
86 tonnes a day segregated at source into degradable and non-degradable, then disposed of scientifically — with recyclable paper routed to ITC’s Coimbatore recycling unit instead of the dump.
Compost for agriculture
At Padappai the ECOMAC machine converts organic waste into high-quality compost for agricultural and horticultural use — a circular economy at panchayat scale.
Work for local people
400 sanitary workers deployed across Dindigul, and at Padappai training for sanitary workers in segregation, composting and safe handling — plus jobs in collection and processing.
Get involved
Partner with us for sustainable waste management
Looking for solid waste management support for your municipality or panchayat? Coodu Trust runs city-scale operations in Dindigul and decentralised composting in Kancheepuram district, and can help build the same systems elsewhere.