Clean My Village
A community-led circular economy initiative for sustainable solid waste management, running across three villages — Eraiyur, Vallakottai and Mathur — in Sriperumbudur Block, Kanchipuram District, in partnership with Apollo Tyres Foundation.
At the heart of the initiative are teams of women from economically disadvantaged backgrounds — our Nirmal Brigade, eight per village — who lead door-to-door collection of source-segregated household waste. Operating from village-based Resource Recovery Yards, they apply the principles of Reduce, Reuse and Recycle (3R) to recover valuable resources, minimise waste sent to landfills, and demonstrate the potential of a circular economy at the grassroots level. Standard Operating Procedures were developed for all three villages to build a sustainable, systems-based work culture.
Beyond improving village sanitation, the initiative creates sustainable livelihood opportunities, strengthens environmental awareness, and empowers communities to view waste not as a burden but as a valuable resource. Women are trained in smartphone use and online record-keeping, and in earning, saving and operating bank accounts individually and as a livelihood group. Children in all three villages formed the Thooimai Kavalar Ani (Cleanliness Guardians), becoming change agents who helped households reach 100% source segregation.
