The Aakhya Weekly #145 | Burning Questions and Buried Answers: Unpacking India’s Waste Crisis
In Focus: The Tangled Tale of India’s Trash, Toxins, and Tenuous Fixes
by Shaurya Singh Tyagi
Image Source - India Water Portal
India, home to over 1.4 billion people, faces an escalating waste management crisis driven by urbanisation, rising consumption, and industrial activity. The country generates more than 160,000 tonnes of municipal solid waste (MSW) daily, with additional streams including millions of tonnes of plastic, electronic, biomedical, and hazardous waste. While legislation like the Solid Waste Management Rules (2016) and Plastic Waste Management Rules (2016, amended in 2018 and 2022) provides a regulatory framework, enforcement and infrastructure remain inadequate. Urban areas are beginning to implement organised systems, but rural regions and informal sectors are largely underserved. To address this complex issue, India needs an integrated approach that combines strong governance, decentralised infrastructure, public participation, and the formal recognition of informal workers.
The Challenges: An Indian Context
Municipal Solid Waste(MSW) remains one of India’s largest and most visible waste management challenges. The country’s waste generation has increased from 145,000 tonnes per day to approximately 160,000 tonnes per day in recent years. Although around 95% of MSW is collected, only half is processed through composting, biomethanation, or waste-to-energy technologies. Nearly a third of the waste remains unaccounted for and is often dumped, burned, or left to accumulate in the environment. Waste composition typically includes a large biodegradable fraction, besides recyclables and inert materials. However, poor segregation practices at the source make effective treatment and recycling difficult.
The urban–rural divide presents another layer of complexity. Urban local bodies often achieve over 80% door-to-door waste collection, while rural areas lag far behind. In villages, it is still common for waste to be dumped in open fields, drains, or burned in the open. Although the Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen) Phase II, launched in 2020, prioritises the creation of compost pits and material recovery facilities in rural areas, implementation has been uneven and slow. Plastic waste presents a particularly difficult challenge. India generates roughly 26,000 tonnes of plastic waste daily, ranking among the highest producers globally. Despite such numbers, only about 8% of plastic waste is effectively recycled, compared to over 60% in some developed countries. Most of the waste comprises low-density polythene and multilayered plastics, which are difficult to collect and recycle. Although India has implemented bans on select single-use plastics and restrictions on plastic bag thickness, enforcement remains weak, and banned items are still widely available. The cost of biodegradable alternatives also deters widespread adoption, especially in informal and rural markets.
Electronic waste is another fast-growing concern. India’s e-waste generation increased from 1.35 million tonnes in 2020–21 to 1.6 million tonnes in 2021–22, with projections reaching 1.75 million tonnes in 2023–24. However, only about one-third of this waste is formally collected. The informal sector continues to dominate e-waste management, with over 90% of materials handled by unregulated workshops and individual recyclers using crude and hazardous techniques. Public awareness is low, and formal collection centres are limited, leaving consumers with few options for safe disposal. The country faces persistent gaps even in the case of biomedical and hazardous waste management. India generates 700–800 tonnes of biomedical waste daily, primarily from hospitals and clinics. While large hospitals generally follow regulatory guidelines for source segregation and disposal, smaller facilities often mix biomedical waste with general waste. Although the country has over 200 authorised treatment facilities, incineration standards are inconsistent, and banned practices like deep burial still occur in remote regions. On the industrial front, India produced over 15 million tonnes of hazardous waste in 2022–23. A sizable portion of this waste continues to be dumped illegally or stored in unlined landfills. This is despite regulations requiring treatment and disposal in engineered facilities.
Environmental and Health Hazards
The environmental consequences of poor waste management are far-reaching. Unsegregated and untreated waste leads to widespread soil, air, and groundwater pollution. Methane emissions from decomposing organic matter in open dumpsites contribute significantly to climate change. These sites also leach toxic chemicals, including heavy metals, into the surrounding environment, contaminating water supplies and agricultural land. Open burning, particularly in rural zones or informal sectors, releases harmful toxins like dioxins and furans. Plastics, when burned, emit noxious fumes and microplastics that settle in the environment and infiltrate the food chain. India lacks a national system to monitor microplastic levels in soil or water, putting ecosystems and human health at risk. Informal plastic recycling often involves open shredding or oil extraction, exposing workers and nearby residents to hazardous chemicals.
E-waste presents additional environmental and health dangers. Informal recyclers frequently use acid baths or mechanical crushing to extract valuable materials, releasing mercury, lead, and dioxins. These practices contaminate air and water and pose severe long-term health risks to workers and nearby populations. Children and women, who often assist in such informal operations, are especially vulnerable to neurological and reproductive harm caused by exposure to toxic substances. On similar lines, biomedical waste mismanagement further compounds health risks. Inadequately treated infectious waste can spread diseases, especially when mixed with general waste and handled without protective equipment. Substandard incineration facilities emit dangerous pollutants, while unauthorised disposal methods, like open dumping or deep burial, allow pathogens and toxic substances to leach into groundwater or the surrounding soil. Hazardous industrial waste similarly threatens environmental and public health. Improper storage, transport, and disposal of chemicals by industries lead to contamination of large tracts of land and water bodies. Despite regulatory frameworks, unauthorised dumping and poor compliance remain widespread, especially in industrial clusters.
Integrated Policy Recommendations
To address these interlinked challenges, India needs a multi-pronged and inclusive approach. The foundation of this effort should be mandatory segregation at source, supported by a nationwide rollout of two- or three-bin systems. Public awareness campaigns and strict penalties for non-compliance are necessary to make segregation a social norm. Collection systems should be modernised using GPS-tracked vehicles and smart bins to bring accountability and transparency into implementation processes.
Treatment infrastructure must be decentralised to handle waste more efficiently, while keeping it local. Community composting units, local biogas plants, and neighbourhood-level plastic recovery centres can reduce the load on centralised systems and promote resource recovery. Expanding the coverage and capacity of the Swachh Bharat Mission Phase II is essential in achieving progress in remote and rural districts. This includes building compost pits, soak pits, and MRFs in every village and enforcing bans on dumping and burning.
The informal sector should be recognised and integrated into the formal waste economy. Waste pickers and recyclers play a critical role in resource recovery, but operate under unsafe and unregulated conditions. Organising them into cooperatives, providing protective equipment, and offering training and fair wages will improve worker welfare and system efficiency. Certification and formal integration can also enhance the quality and safety of recycling operations.
Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) must be enforced rigorously. Producers, brands, and recyclers should be monitored through digital tracking systems and regular audits. Penalties for non-compliance and incentives for sustainable packaging design and use of recycled content can drive better outcomes. Public disclosure of compliance records will also enhance transparency.
Regulatory institutions such as State Pollution Control Boards must be strengthened with manpower, technical tools, and budgetary support. A centralised national dashboard that tracks segregation levels, treatment capacity, and policy enforcement across states can help identify gaps and prioritise action.
Finally, Public engagement is a cornerstone of effective waste management. Education programs in schools and communities can instil responsible consumption and disposal habits. Economic instruments such as plastic taxes, deposit-return schemes, and subsidies for biodegradable alternatives can encourage behaviour change and support sustainable industries.
Now is an opportune moment for India to align infrastructure, regulation, public engagement, and environmental priorities, setting it up perfectly for a shift toward a sustainable and circular waste economy—one that protects ecosystems, safeguards public health, and conserves valuable resources.
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