The following is background information and a proposal for a publicly- or privately-operated nationwide recycling program to be instituted in India via existing railway infrastructure.

Traveling by train is one of the most efficient and beautiful ways to see the Indian countryside. Trains also serve as a vantage point to observe the lives of people both inside and outside the train. Inside, food and conversation dominate cross-country train passtimes for Indian families. Looking outside, towns and villages are located in close proximity to the train tracks, offering unique views of bustling and sometimes grim life.

One striking observation about the train system is the large amount of trash and business linked to and surrounding them. The train system is a hub and conduit for material goods, especially food and product packaging.

Why all the garbage? A public trash can is hard to find in India, even aboard the nation's trains. Culturally, I learned it is not a habit to seek a trash can for food or product packaging, but to simply throw it on the ground. While aboard the train, passengers throw their food wrappers out the windows and doors. The trash from the trains piles on top of each village's own trash accumulation, compounding the problem.

Given the abundance of trash produced in the trains, and considering their proximity to many towns and villages choking with the same problems, I propose a solution to harness the existing train infrastructure for a nationwide recycling program.

Open collection train cars can be specially made or converted from existing luggage cars (which are essentially open units with larger doors). These hubs can run on the end of existing passenger trains or be grouped in multiple and run as a dedicated train line. In either case, the recycling train cars would offer cash reward of 5 Rupees per KG of recyclable goods including plastic, metal, or glass containers. Trains stop for 5-30 minutes at a time at each designated town or village, allowing a window of time for as many people as possible to redeem cash for their collected and pre-sorted materials. The collected material would be dumped at recycling facilities at or near economic centers allowing for their reuse.