30 Wheels of Climate Justice: For Waste Workers Mobility

Help Waste Workers Ride Toward a Greener Future

Support Chintan’s Electric Cycle Rickshaw Project

Climate action doesn’t only happen through big policies or distant conferences. Real change begins on our streets — with the people who quietly keep our cities clean every single day.

💚 The People Who Keep Our Cities Alive

Every morning, thousands of waste pickers in Delhi begin work before sunrise, collecting and segregating waste from over 80 households each. They do this using heavy wooden cycle rickshaws fitted with thick tyres and partitions to meet solid waste rules — but these rickshaws are extremely difficult to pull.

These waste pickers are the invisible environmentalists preventing our cities from drowning in waste. Yet their work comes at a high personal cost:

• Daily muscle pain, fatigue, and heat stress
• Inability to travel longer distances, forcing waste dumping at unsuitable locations
• Loss of income because they cannot reach better-paying recyclers
• Risk of theft or damage, as heavy rickshaws cannot be taken home easily

This is where Chintan decided to step in.

⚡ A Simple Idea With Powerful Results

In 2023–24, Chintan partnered with a local roadside mechanic to convert 13 traditional rickshaws into electric e-rickshaws. This was not just a technical upgrade — it was a lifeline.

The impact was immediate and inspiring:

• ✅ Workers could travel 5 km further with a full load and reach better-paying buyers
• ✅ Rickshaws could be taken home safely, reducing theft
• ✅ Higher earnings with less physical exhaustion
• ✅ For the first time, women waste workers could independently drive loaded rickshaws, take on better contracts, and earn without depending on others who often demanded a share of their income
• ✅ The local mechanic gained new skills and steady business, creating a ripple effect of green livelihoods

This project proved that when clean technology meets dignity of labour, everyone wins.

🚴‍♀️ What’s Next: 30 More Electric Rickshaws

Chintan is now ready to scale this successful model and support 30 more waste workers to become green entrepreneurs.

Planned distribution:

• Delhi: 22 electric rickshaws
• Uttar Pradesh: 8 electric rickshaws
• At least 30% will be allocated to women waste workers

Each electric rickshaw means:

• Reduced pollution and fewer fossil-fuel vehicles
• Safer and healthier working conditions
• Increased income and independence for women
• Cleaner neighbourhoods and cities for all

☀️ Why This Matters

From March to September, extreme heat puts waste workers at serious risk of exhaustion and heat stress. From October to January, severe air pollution makes even breathing difficult. Pulling a fully loaded rickshaw in these conditions is dangerous and physically punishing.

An electric cycle rickshaw changes everything. It allows waste workers to:

• Conserve energy and protect their health
• Reduce exposure to polluted air
• Cover more ground in less time
• Increase earnings without physical strain

Most importantly, it brings women into the climate and clean-city story — as earners, leaders, and changemakers.

💪 How You Can Help

Your support will enable Chintan to:

• Convert and distribute 30 electric rickshaws
• Train waste workers in e-vehicle use and basic maintenance
• Empower at least 30% women to become independent earners
• Strengthen a local green mechanic’s livelihood through continued e-rickshaw conversion work

Together, we can help 30 families work safer, earn better, and live with dignity — while reducing emissions and keeping our cities clean.

💰 Every Donation Counts

• ₹25,000 — Helps repair and retrofit an old rickshaw for conversion
• ₹2,25,000 — Sponsors one full electric rickshaw and transforms a life

🌱 Be Part of the Change

You don’t need grand gestures to make a difference. Sometimes, the most powerful solutions begin with small wheels, steady hands, and everyday heroes.

Help us put 30 electric rickshaws on the road.
Help 30 waste worker entrepreneurs earn with dignity.
Help women lead the way toward cleaner, fairer cities.

Donate today. Ride with us toward a healthier future.

— The Chintan Environmental Research and Action Group