Hasiru Dala
Hasiru Dala, meaning "Green Force" in Kannada, is a non-profit organisation working to secure dignity, social security, and sustainable livelihoods for waste pickers and informal waste workers in India. Founded in 2011 and headquartered in Bengaluru, the organisation works at the intersection of urban waste management, labour rights, and social inclusion, advocating for a community that is largely invisible in policy, underpaid in the economy, and marginalised by caste.
Hasiru Dala's core argument is that waste pickers are not a problem to be managed but an essential, skilled workforce whose contribution to the city's recycling economy is measurable and significant. A 2011 study found that just 15,000 waste pickers in Bengaluru saved the city's municipal body (BBMP) approximately Rs. 84 crores per year in collection and transportation costs. The organisation works to ensure that this contribution is formally recognised, compensated, and protected.
Headquarters: Bengaluru, Karnataka. Operating Cities: Bengaluru, Mysuru, Tumakuru, Hubbali/Dharwad, Davanagere, Chamarajanagar, Ullala, Rajahmundry, and expanding
Major Projects and Initiatives
- Saamuhika Shakti - A large-scale collective impact initiative funded by the H&M Foundation, bringing together multiple organisations to address the multi-dimensional exclusion of waste pickers in Bengaluru. Hasiru Dala's role covers welfare access, domestic violence response, and improving working conditions. Now in its second phase.
- Closing the Loop on Textile Waste (CTL) - A circular textile waste management model implemented across 16 DWCCs in Bengaluru in partnership with CAIF/Intellecap. Waste pickers collect and sort textile waste separately, with women trained in upcycling to create new livelihood streams.
- Project PRITHVI - Hasiru Dala is the Bengaluru implementing partner for this UNDP India and Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages initiative on plastic waste recycling, active across 50 cities in India.
- Hasiru Mane (Green Home Programme) - Supports waste pickers in accessing affordable housing through government land allotments and zero-interest financing.
- Hasiru Dala Innovations - A sister social enterprise building circular economy business models, handling EPR compliance for brands, event waste management, and plastic waste aggregation, with waste pickers at the centre as green-collar professionals.
Partners
BBMP, H&M Foundation, UNDP India, Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages, Plastics for Change, The Body Shop, Jain University, Waste Wise Trust, WaterAid India, Bal Raksha Bharat, BBC Media Action, Social Alpha, CAIF/Intellecap, GAIA, WIEGO, and the International Alliance of Waste Pickers.
Hasiru Dala sits at a rare convergence of environmental justice, labour rights, urban policy, and caste equity. The work is both hands-on and systemic, you could be helping a waste picker navigate a welfare scheme one day and contributing to a national policy brief the next. For those who care about intersectionality in social change, this is one of the few organisations where the fact that most waste pickers are women, Dalit, and economically excluded is held across all programme design rather than flattened into a single narrative. The organisation also has strong presence in global waste and circularity networks, offering exposure well beyond the local context.
