Rajkot Temples Convert Sacred Waste into Useful Products

As of 2025-11-15T20:26:10+00:00, temples across Rajkot have been generating large quantities of floral offerings every day, most of which turn into waste once the rituals are over. Managing this steady stream of sacred waste has long been a challenge for temple trusts and the civic body.

To address the issue, the Rajkot Municipal Corporation (RMC) launched an initiative last month to collect and recycle temple waste. Under the project, a dedicated vehicle collects the floral and ritual waste from temples across the city and transports it to processing units. There, women from self-help groups sort and transform the waste into usable items such as incense sticks, natural dyes, compost, and handmade paper.

RMC's environment engineer Prajesh Solanki stated that they initially identified five major temples, including Panchnath and Ramnath Para, which generate large volumes of waste. The RMC then convinced the temple management to collect the waste in a way that allows for recycling. The collected waste is then transported to a designated place, and the women are provided space to create the by-products.

Until now, most temples either handed their waste to RMC garbage vans or disposed of it in nearby water bodies, making segregation difficult at landfill sites. To strengthen the initiative, INTACH's Heritage Craft and Community Division is conducting training programs across India to help self-help groups convert sacred waste into usable products. A recent training session was held in Rajkot, where the chapter convener Riddhi Shah mentioned that about 50% of the collected flowers are usable, and they need to train temples to collect offerings in a way that increases the usable portion.