Waste was an ancient problem of human beings, and a growing one that is of major issue to every nation of the world. Recently, the issue of waste collection and proper disposal become significant because it links to health, environment, and safety of every citizen and country. Waste collection is carried out by poor and marginalized social groups who resort to scavenging/ waste picking for income generation and some even for everyday survival. Waste and women are closely related because of their daily contact with it and this placed them in a very significant position of waste collection. By having this rationale, therefore, this research is aimed to explore the lived experience of WSWCs working at dream light solid waste management and recycling PLC in Bahir Dar City Administration. To address the objective of this study, qualitative approach with phenomenological design was used. The sample size of this study was eight WSWCs working at the PLC more than two years of experiences. Since the samples were purposively selected as a research participant, the data extracted from them were analyzed by using thematic qualitative data analysis techniques. The result of this study revealed that women working at the PLC have both opportunities and challenges. Accordingly, women solid waste collectors have advantages of getting employment, psychological satisfaction, and means of survival. On the other hand, women waste collectors face challenges from different directions: like from the PLC such as insulting, consider them as object, threatening, unequal salary for same work, cutting salary, double burden without merit, pittance/low salary, and unable to go to health center. From the society side like discrimination, forced to lose additional jobs, consider workers as waste materials, asking to pick the waste everywhere and every time and expectoration and laughing at them are the major challenges they face. The other challenge exists at home like alienation with in family, unwillingness to eat the prepared food with them, unable to feed the family, forced to stop the job, separation with husband or love partner, exposing to theft as well as shy to go to school. They also faced challenge related with health which includes: infections, lack of appetite to eat as well as to prepare food, and accruing other diseases like waist pain, eye disease and nose stifle. Hence, WSWCs face more challenges than having opportunities from the activity. In order to overcome those challenges, WSWCs used different coping strategies like keep silent, doing what they told, praying, hope for the future, convince themselves that there is no choice, apply for the company, appeal workers and social affairs of Bihardar city, asking any food left over from hotels to eat, reliance with relatives, cover the work by close friend when absent, telling what they are doing, give advice, massage the waist, drinking water, Sash waist, incarceration with lemon and peppercorn, fumigate with boiling water and smearing Kohl. Therefore, To avoid the above mentioned various challenges dream light PLC, Bahir Dar City Administration Sanitation, Beautification and Green Development Office, Bahir Dar City Administration health office, Bahir Dar City Administration Women and children affair office, NGOs working in women empowerment, the society and their families should play their own roles in order to help the WSWCs to avoid or minimize those challenges and create conducive working environment for better achievement in their career. Key words: women, solid waste, Dream light PLC, Bahir dar