For the first time, official government data has laid bare the social composition of India’s urban waste-picking workforce, revealing that an overwhelming majority of workers engaged in informal waste collection come from historically marginalised communities.
Data tabled in Parliament on February 3, 2026 by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment shows that 84.5 per cent of the 1.52 lakh waste-pickers profiled so far belong to Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe and Other Backward Class communities. Only 10.7 per cent of workers were from the General category, while the rest were classified under “Other” communities.
The data is part of the ongoing enumeration exercise under the National Action for Mechanised Sanitation Ecosystem (NAMASTE) scheme, which aims to formally recognise sewer, septic tank workers and waste-pickers and provide them with safety equipment and institutional support. The profiling exercise has so far covered urban local bodies across 35 States and Union Territories, with data validated up to January 23, 2026.
According to the figures, of the total waste-pickers identified, 48.7 per cent are women, 51.3 per cent are men and a very small fraction just 12 individuals identify as transgender.
While the national picture reflects deep-rooted caste-linked occupational patterns, the data also highlights sharp regional contrasts. Delhi, Goa and West Bengal emerge as notable outliers where waste-pickers from the General category form a disproportionately large share of the workforce.
In Delhi, more than 4,200 of the roughly 6,500 waste-pickers profiled were from General category communities. Goa showed a similar pattern, with General category workers outnumbering those from SC, ST and OBC backgrounds. In West Bengal, General category waste-pickers accounted for 42.4 per cent of the total enumerated workers.
These deviations point to differing urban labour dynamics, migration patterns and local waste economies across states.
A closer look at social categories shows that Scheduled Castes alone account for 60.3 per cent of all profiled waste-pickers, numbering over 92,000 workers. OBC communities make up 13.7 per cent, while Scheduled Tribes account for 10.5 per cent of the workforce.
Additionally, 7,402 workers were listed under the “Other” category, a classification that remains undefined in detail but adds another layer to the social complexity of informal waste labour.
Under the NAMASTE scheme, waste-pickers are defined as people informally engaged in collecting and recovering recyclable and reusable solid waste from streets, bins, material recovery facilities and dumping grounds, often selling materials through intermediaries to earn a livelihood.
Despite their critical role in urban recycling and waste reduction, most waste-pickers remain outside formal municipal systems, lacking job security, social protection and basic safety gear. The enumeration exercise is intended to bridge this gap, but activists have repeatedly flagged delays in translating data collection into tangible benefits.
The Parliament data also underlines the broader crisis in sanitation work. The Ministry informed the Lok Sabha that 859 people have died since 2014 while cleaning sewers and septic tanks, with 43 deaths recorded in 2025 alone. Earlier data shows that more than 90 per cent of sewer and septic tank workers also come from SC, ST and OBC communities, reinforcing concerns about caste-based occupational segregation.
The release of this data marks a rare moment of official transparency around one of India’s most invisible workforces. But it also raises uncomfortable questions about why, decades after constitutional guarantees of equality, some of the most dangerous and degrading urban jobs continue to be overwhelmingly performed by marginalised communities.
As enumeration progresses, the real test for the NAMASTE scheme will not be how many workers are counted, but how many see meaningful improvements in safety, dignity and livelihood security.