Council on Energy, Environment and Water Integrated | International | Independent
Suggested citation: Khan, Adeel, Srishti Mishra and Priyanka Singh, 2025. Tailoring Solid Waste Management in India: Learnings from Cities with a Million-plus Population. New Delhi: Council on Energy, Environment and Water
Indian cities are expected to generate an estimated 435 million tonnes of solid waste by 2050. The waste sector contributed around 1200 kilotonnes per year (Kt/yr) of PM2.5 emissions in India in 2020. These emissions are projected to almost double by 2050 due to rising waste generation. This highlights the need for sustainable waste management solutions.
A ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach is not suitable as cities vary significantly in waste generation and composition, geography, climate, culture, workforce capacity, financial resources, and local legislative frameworks. To develop efficient waste management plans, urban local bodies (ULBs) must adopt tailored strategies that address the unique characteristics and root causes of challenges in each city.
This study introduces a challenge-root-cause-solution (CRS) matrix that serves as a practical reference guide for ULBs and policymakers to identify effective solutions to city-specific waste management challenges.
Indian cities will generate approximately 435 million tonnes of solid waste by 2050 (MoHUA 2021). In FY 2021–22, India generated 170,000 tonnes of municipal solid waste per day, about 156,000 tonnes were collected, of which nearly 54 per cent was treated, and 24 per cent was deposited in landfills (CPCB 2024). The remaining 22 per cent was unaccounted for due to leakages in the waste supply chain. Without proper waste management, unaccounted waste is disposed of in open spaces, drains, and water bodies or through open waste burning, all of which result in adverse effects.
India has introduced multiple initiatives through policies and national programmes to address the solid waste management (SWM) crisis. Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM), launched in 2014, is the government’s ongoing flagship programme. Under SBM Urban 2.0, India aims to make all its cities garbage-free by 2026. To achieve this target, cities need to ensure compliance with certain conditions, including scientific management of generated waste, remediation of legacy waste, efforts towards waste reduction, and efforts to promote visible cleanliness (MoHUA 2022). To achieve these targets, city-specific challenges and gaps at each stage of the waste supply chain must be identified and assessed. In recent years, many solutions and best practices have emerged to improve SWM locally and globally. However, replicating best practices from other cities and regions without adapting them to local contexts may not lead to sustainable waste management.
Cities vary significantly in their waste generation and composition, geography, climate, culture, workforce capacity, financial resources, and local legislative framework. These difference make a one-size-fits- all approach ineffective, as solutions that work in one context may not necessarily work in another. Therefore, a tailored approach contextualised to each city’s unique characteristics is required for developing waste management strategies and plans. Urban local bodies (ULBs) should identify the underlying root causes of city-specific challenges, as local reasons or issues can vary significantly from one city to another.
This study introduces a challenge–root cause–solution (CRS) matrix that allows city administrations to explore, facilitate, and adopt tailored solutions that address the local ‘root causes’ of specific urban waste challenges. We have focused on cities with populations exceeding one million, as they account for roughly half of India’s urban waste. These cities also benefit from dedicated funding allocated through the Million-Plus Challenge Fund issued under the Fifteen Finance Commission (FC-XV).
We examined eight million-plus cities – Ahmedabad, Bhopal, Indore, Navi Mumbai, Pune, Rajkot, Surat, and Visakhapatnam. These selected cities have consistently performed well according to the Swachh Survekshan annual survey for six years (2017–2022). We developed the CRS matrix for each level of the solid waste supply chain based on a comprehensive literature review on SWM challenges, semi-structured interviews with stakeholders, and observations and learnings from field visits.
We identified 26 challenges prevalent across the SWM supply chain using secondary sources. The challenges were integrated and visualised in a waste flow diagram (WFD) system map, as shown in Figure ES1 (GIZ 2020). The WFD revealed waste leakage at various levels of the SWM supply chain due to gaps in the waste supply chain. Further, many of these challenges are deeply interlinked across the waste supply chain. For instance, improper segregation at source impacts collection and transportation efficiency and resource recovery for different types of waste.
A tailored approach contextualised to each city’s unique characteristics is required for developing waste management strategies and plans.
To close these gaps, it is crucial to identify and address the underlying root causes of the major challenges in the waste supply chain. We identified 97 root causes for the 26 challenges, which are being addressed through 184 solutions implemented in the selected cities in various capacities.
Over half of the identified root causes are linked to the ‘attitude and awareness’, ‘policy- governance’, and ‘infrastructure’ challenges.
Figure present below provides a thematic overview of the root causes of the challenges cities face in improving SWM, as captured in the field visits. The ‘infrastructure’ category accounts for about 20 per cent of root causes. It includes issues such as the lack of effective management information systems, appropriate vehicles for waste collection and transportation, and waste storage areas. Unreliable power supply and poorly designed facilities further exacerbate the problem. ‘Policy and governance’ account for 19 per cent of root causes – this includes problems associated with getting the necessary approvals, ensuring transparency in tenders, enforcing regulations, agreement with the concessionaire, and incorporating informal waste workers into the formal SWM system.
‘Attitude and awareness’ and ‘training and capacity- building’ are the other major themes that account for another 30 per cent of the root causes, including limited awareness of segregation and open dumping, insufficient motivation or incentive for citizens and workers, suboptimal route planning and usage of vehicles, inadequate regular maintenance at waste management facilities, and general negligence among workers, among others. ’Data and information’ and ’technology’ also emerged as important themes that emphasise the need for accessing and managing data effectively and integrating technological solutions in the waste management system of the city.
Interestingly, ’financial resources’ and ’workforce’ did not emerge as prominent themes. While both these factors constitute critical components for an effective SWM system, the analysis suggests that the effective utilisation of resources is key rather than just an abundance of them. The findings also align with existing research that demonstrates that increased SWM spending does not directly translate to better outcomes (Gupta and Sachdeva 2021). The findings highlight the need for a shift in focus from resource allocation to resource optimisation.
The CRS matrix developed as a part of this study can be used as a strategic tool by cities to customise and implement solutions that address the underlying root causes of the challenges they face. This framework also provides cities with the opportunity to innovate and develop their own unique solutions. We recommend the following actions based on the learning and insights from the selected cities to strengthen the existing SWM system.
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