Punjab’s Radical Waste Overhaul Now Serves 130 Million in Record Time
Pakistan’s Punjab province has transformed its waste crisis into the world’s largest integrated waste management system in just eight months. The initiative, called Suthra Punjab (Clean Punjab), now serves every city and village across the province—an area spanning over 200,000 square kilometres. Before this, 70 million rural residents had no waste collection at all, while urban areas received only partial services.
The project was launched to address a long-standing waste problem in a province with roughly 130 million people. A single authority was created to oversee operations, replacing fragmented systems with a unified approach. Today, Suthra Punjab processes about 50,000 tons of waste daily, with every step tracked in real time using IoT sensors, GPS, and RFID tags. Data feeds into a central dashboard, ensuring transparency and efficiency.
Suthra Punjab now handles waste for all 130 million residents, replacing a broken system with a digital, performance-driven model. The project has created jobs, slashed emissions, and attracted international partnerships. With plans to expand waste-to-energy projects, the system is on track to become self-sustaining in the coming years.
