About Waste
The Waste section covers municipal and industrial waste in India, from street cleaning and garbage collection to treatment, recycling and the circular economy. It is organised into City Cleaning, Solid Waste Management, Recycling, Organic and Food Waste Management, Hazardous Waste Management, E-waste and Sustainability.
Reports and explainers look at how much waste India generates and why more of it is now inorganic, the separate waste streams a pharma company must handle, and why the circular economy depends on segregation at source. Field stories cover Prayagraj's model for disposing of legacy waste, Kerala's Haritha Mitram app, waste management at the Mahakumbh and a business park that manages its own waste.
Recycling and upcycling stories include a machine that makes thermocol easy to transport for recycling and a startup that makes leather from banana waste. Other pieces draw lessons from Sweden and Japan and profile service providers such as Urbaser Sumeet. The section is meant for municipal officers, facility and sustainability managers at bulk waste generators, recyclers and equipment suppliers.
Start here
- India to Generate 0.7 kg Waste Per Person Per Day by 2025: Report Per-person waste generation in India and why more of it is now inorganic
- From Waste to Wealth: How Circular Economy Is Reframing India’s Waste Challenge A central government report on earning from waste, and why segregation comes first
- The A to Z of pharma waste management How the pharma industry handles its many separate, regulated waste streams
- Case Study: Raheja Corp’s Mindspace Minding its Waste Case study: how K Raheja Corp's Mindspace business park manages its own waste
- Prayagraj’s Legacy Waste Revolution A Model for India’s Sustainable Future How Prayagraj disposes of legacy municipal waste, a model UP districts are adopting
- Urbaser Sumeet: Game-changers of keeping cities clean How Urbaser Sumeet combines manpower and technology in outsourced city waste services
- Haritha Mitram App for Smart Garbage Tracking How Kerala's officials, state to ward level, monitor non-organic waste on one app
- Upcycling Banana Waste for Leather A Sustainable Route to Manufacture Leather A founder explains how her startup turns banana crop waste into leather
Questions readers ask
How much municipal solid waste does India generate every day?
India generates over 1.7 lakh tonnes of municipal solid waste every day, and only about 54% of it is scientifically treated or processed, according to the Central Pollution Control Board. Read the article
How is pharmaceutical waste managed?
A pharma company produces several unrelated waste streams that must each be processed differently, and in many cases the waste has to be treated before it is disposed of. Read the article
Can thermocol waste be recycled?
Thermocol is hardly ever collected and recycled in India. The Therminator machine converts it into a form that is easy to transport, which helps its collection and recycling. Read the article
What is the Haritha Mitram app?
It is Kerala's Smart Garbage Management System app, developed by Keltron, which gives officials from state level to ward level one platform to monitor non-organic waste management digitally. Read the article