The Global Fight Against Litter: Indore, India

The Global Fight Against Litter

Indore, India

Indore in India is officially the country’s cleanest city, and that is mainly down to the work of the Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC), whose vehicles patrol the city and hand out penalties to those dropping litter on the streets.

Cleanest city in India

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Development hailed the city as the cleanest in the country, and this is largely down to the mayor, Malini Gaur. Within 2 years, she has worked to take the city from being ranked 180 out of 434 cities for cleanliness to the number one spot last year.

A focus on waste management

This spectacular achievement came about because of a strong focus on a solid waste management plan that was put together through collaboration with schools, hospitals, temples, and hotels. Now the city is being used as an example of best practise, and officials from municipal authorities across India have visited to see what they’ve put into place.

Plans for further improvement

There are further plans to boost Indore’s cleanest city status. They are considering building a facility to make compost, extracting methane from food waste to fuel the city’s buses, enforcing the separation of dry and wet waste, and cleaning the streets every night.

There are also plans for a facility which will kill potentially harmful bacteria in sewage sludge and make it odour-free, by 2019.

Regular inspections take place

Inspectors go around the city at night, taking photos of the street cleansing vehicles and the workers who clean the footpaths to prove the extent of the work that goes into keeping the city clean. The city tries to keep operational costs low, while providing a service that is value for money. The work is partly funded by a monthly fee for residents and businesses.