An Initiative reflecting the lasting effect of collective effort

With a rapidly growing economy, accelerated development, increasing urbanization, and rising consumption of goods and services, one of the biggest challenges facing our cities today is the ever-growing volume of waste. The problem has reached a scale where it is no longer the responsibility of the administration alone—every citizen now has a role to play.

Many people remain unaware of what happens to the waste once it leaves their homes. As long as it is out of sight, it is often out of mind. Yet, the environmental and public health impacts of accumulating waste affect everyone. Despite these consequences, awareness about sustainable waste management remains limited.

However, meaningful change can begin with when people come together. These collective efforts can transform an entire neighbourhood. This is exactly what is happening in Pune's Ideal Colony.

Pragya Sheth, a conscious citizen who began her sustainability journey by managing wet waste at home. Within a short period, all the organic waste generated in her kitchen was being converted into compost. Having successfully addressed wet waste, she turned her attention to dry waste.

She soon realized that plastic accounted for the largest share of dry waste. As the use of packaged goods and online deliveries continues to increase, households generate more cardboard and plastic packaging than ever before. To tackle this issue, she began segregating plastic from other dry waste to ensure it was disposed of responsibly and sent for recycling.

The results were remarkable. Nearly 70 percent of the waste leaving her home was reduced through proper segregation and composting. Once she gained confidence that the segregated waste was reaching the right recycling channels, she began encouraging like-minded residents in her apartment building to adopt the same practice.

Gradually, the initiative gained momentum, and before long, all 32 apartments in the housing society had joined the movement.

When members of the Ideal Colony committee learned about this successful initiative, one committee member proposed expanding it across the entire colony. The idea received enthusiastic support. Although implementing such an initiative on a much larger scale was challenging, residents came together and began working in a systematic and well-planned manner.

Today, 37 of the 70 housing societies in Ideal Colony have joined the plastic segregation initiative, while continuous efforts are being made to encourage the remaining societies to participate.

According to Pragya Sheth, such transformations take time, but they are certainly achievable. Many people genuinely want to contribute but are often unsure about where or how to begin. Once they become aware of the process and its impact, they are happy to participate.

The next goal is ambitious yet achievable—to make Ideal Colony completely plastic-free—and efforts are already underway to turn this vision into reality.

Pragya Sheth shared this inspiring journey during a special presentation at the 14th session of the Clean City Talks, organized by the Adar Poonawalla Clean City Initiative (APCCI). During the session, she interacted with APCCI's waste warriors, supervisors, and college students, encouraging them to become active participants in building cleaner and more sustainable communities.


The event was attended by Mr.Krishnan Komandur, Chief Executive Officer of APCCI; Mr.Malhar Karvande, Chief Operating Officer; Mr.Ashish Marathe, General Manager; and Mr.Satya Natarajan, Lead Volunteer, APCCI