Despite a decade of Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) and policy reforms, waste management in India remains a challenge.
A 2022 report by the Central Pollution Control Board revealed that urban India generates around 63.17 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of municipal solid waste (MSW) and treats 33.40 MTPA. Meanwhile, the SBM claims that India currently generates 57.89 MTPA of MSW and treats 44.94 MTPA. This discrepancy highlights one of the biggest challenges in India’s waste management sector from a policy development or private sector investment perspective — the lack of reliable data.
Waste generation rates and composition fluctuate with seasons and lifestyle changes. However, most cities lack data on variations in waste quantity and quality over the years — or even across different seasons. Simply shifting the responsibility to private sector entities, who are expected to analyse waste data while preparing tender submissions, will not solve the problem.
Cities must take proactive measures, conducting frequent waste composition studies (at least once a year), carrying out proximate and ultimate analyses of municipal solid waste, and measuring the quantity of waste generated and collected from various sources daily using weighbridges.
City governance must recognise that this is not merely a management issue but also a technical challenge — requiring technical solutions, proper administration with monitoring, review, and verification mechanisms, adequate infrastructure, and strict enforcement of policies on the ground.
On the collection side, in many areas (particularly in difficult terrains and narrow lanes), collection mechanisms do not support segregated waste collection. For example, pushcarts and tractor trolleys are still in use despite lacking the capability to collect waste separately from different sources.
Moreover, many areas either do not receive daily collection services or lack reliable door-to-door collection, forcing households to depend on private workers for waste disposal. In most cases, this results in waste being dumped in low-lying areas or vacant plots, creating garbage vulnerable points.
A reliable kitchen-to-kitchen waste collection service is essential and could be provided within residential societies or housing complexes. Urban Local Bodies (ULB) should recognise and support a pool of service providers—whether through self-help groups or private contractors—with trained staff for door-to-door collection. These service providers should be linked to ULBs or treatment agencies and should facilitate decentralised dry waste deposition centres using a hub-and-spoke model connected to centralised Material Recovery Facilities (MRF).
However, merely announcing vehicle arrivals and tracking their movement via GPS without ensuring waste is collected from each floor of a building does not constitute an effective door-to-door service. Such services should be compulsorily charged by ULBs or recognised private agencies as user fees, with digital interventions for billing and payments.
Despite having collection mechanisms in place, Indian cities still lack compulsory waste collection service linkages for every household and commercial establishment. In Germany, for instance, every citizen is legally required to avail of waste management services and pay according to the quantity of waste generated and the frequency of collection. Strict enforcement and penalties ensure waste is collected from every household, while authorities monitor collection and segregation at the source.
Another issue is multiple handling of waste. In some commercial areas, pushcarts are used to collect road sweepings (which contain valuable dry recyclables), while auto-tippers collect waste from the same area via door-to-door services. This creates multiple disposal routes, discouraging participation in door-to-door services.
Commercial complexes should be mandated to use designated door-to-door services, discontinuing disposal via pushcarts or alternative routes. This would streamline responsibilities for waste collectors and improve monitoring.
Many cities also allow waste collectors to recover recyclables, but this leads to selective extraction of high-value items with established market linkages, leaving behind low-value recyclables for ULBs to manage. This reduces the interest of MRF operators in further investing in dry waste recovery, making business sustainability a challenge.
Moreover, MRF operators often lack clarity on the market demand for different waste fractions, leading to many low-value recyclables being diverted for co-combustion or disposal.
A solution lies in ensuring local market availability and consistent supply of dry waste materials for the recycling industry. This could be achieved through waste depots or hubs near cities, acting as regional marketplaces that bring recyclers closer to urban centres while providing large storage spaces for traders and recyclables.
Formal and informal waste traders could be integrated into a network recognised by ULBs, facilitating bulk waste generators and small-scale generators in selling materials through authorised channels.
Policies do exist in India, and recent government updates aim to push the country forward in waste management. Amendments to the Plastic Waste Management Rules and the formulation of the Solid Waste Management Rules 2024 indicate progress. However, strict implementation and effective monitoring remain challenges due to political interference, a lack of market alternatives, and insufficient enforcement on the ground.
Addressing the daily flow of materials, ensuring the smooth operation of processing facilities, and enforcing compliance with existing policies are critical challenges that cities must tackle. A decade after the launch of the Swachh Bharat Mission in 2014 and with the vision of Viksit Bharat 2047, India is still working to make its cities garbage-free — there is still much to be done in the sector.
Sourabh Manuja, is a solid waste management expert based in Delhi
Views expressed are the author’s own and don’t necessarily reflect those of Down To Earth