India has made substantial progress in collecting municipal waste, but processing has not kept pace, according to a new report released on Wednesday, 5 August.
Of approximately 170,000 tonnes of municipal waste generated each day, around 104,000 tonnes is processed, according to the report by the Institute for Governance & Sustainable Development (IGSD) and Gateway Research.
The remaining waste either reaches disposal sites unprocessed or remains in the gap recorded in official data, says the report titled ‘Municipal Solid Waste Management in India: Policy and Technology Pathways for Climate Action,’
The studey found India collects more than 90 per ent of the municipal solid waste it generates, but nearly 40 per cent does not enter formal processing. It argues that the next phase of India’s waste-management effort must therefore extend beyond collection and focus on segregation, processing, material recovery and safe disposal.
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India generates 1.7 Lakh tonnes of municipal waste daily but processes only around 104,000 tonnes, meaning nearly 40% of the waste remains unprocessed.
Effective waste management is essential to prevent environmental degradation, promote public health, and aid in the recovery of valuable materials from waste to support local economies.
By improving the segregation of organic waste, municipalities can enhance composting and biomethanation efforts, significantly reducing waste sent to dumpsites while generating useful products.
Yes, cities should allocate more resources to processing infrastructure to ensure effective waste management, as current expenditure is largely focused on collection and transportation rather than processing.
Governmental support is critical in addressing challenges in the waste-to-energy sector by providing assured demand, stable pricing, and necessary infrastructure, thereby facilitating investment and boosting production.
The report finds that organic material forms between 40 per cent and 60 per cent of India’s municipal waste stream. Better segregation and treatment of this material through options such as composting and biomethanation could prevent substantial volumes of waste from reaching dumpsites while creating useful products and economic value, it said.
“India has made real progress in ensuring that waste is collected. The next task is to ensure that what is collected is not simply moved from the doorstep to a dumpsite,” said Zerin Osho, Director, India Program, IGSD, and President, Gateway Research said.
The report was released an event in New Delhi on Wednesda that brought together representatives of urban local bodies, policymakers, waste-management practitioners, researchers, environmental organisations, industry and development partners.
“Clearing old dumpsites without changing how fresh waste is segregated and processed would only allow the problem to rebuild itself. India must address both at the same time. The opportunity is to turn better waste management into cleaner cities, stronger local economies and rapid reductions in methane emissions," Osho said.
Gateway Research is a policy research organisation working on climate, environment and sustainable development, with a focus on translating evidence into practical policy and implementation pathways.
“Fragmentation of institutional roles is a major challenge affecting accountability. We do have rules clearly defining responsibilities, but still there is limited enforcement of compliance and accountability," said Gaurav Verma, National Institute of Urban Affairs.
“Other specific issues which need to be addressed include municipal finances, a binding constraint; limited innovative financing tools and, often, limited capacity at the last mile to deal appropriately with waste,” Verma said
Here are key findings of the report:
“In terms of human-caused methane emissions, waste is the third-largest sector contributing 20% methane emissions. We also know that waste sector emissions are driven by urbanization and unregulated waste streams esp in the Global South. Findings from these reports thus become crucial to formulate the right pathways for a sustainable future," said Vidvatta Sharma of the Global Methane Hub.
