Sustainable Waste Management Strategies For Semi-Urban Areas: A Study On Pannimadai, Coimbatore

Abstract

Semi-urban areas are often overlooked in mainstream policy discussions on waste management, despite facing growing challenges due to urban expansion, inadequate infrastructure and lack of public awareness. However, local communities in these regions are not passive recipients of these issues - they respond with their own forms of agency and initiative. This study focuses on Mullai Nagar in Pannimadai, Coimbatore, where residents, particularly women, engage in everyday acts of sustainable waste management, such as home composting and waste segregation. These practices, though modest, reflect a form of environmental consciousness and resistance to unsustainable waste disposal systems. Despite limited institutional support, local participation plays a crucial role in shaping effective grassroots solutions. Using an interventional model and empirical data from households, this study highlights how community-driven practices can challenge systemic gaps and pave the way for decentralized, sustainable waste governance in semi-urban India.