Organic Waste Management in India: Policy, Challenges and Opportunities
India aims to become a Viksit Bharat by 2047. To achieve this, the country must not only sustain but also accelerate economic growth for the next two decades. Rising incomes are driving higher consumption, which in turn generates larger volumes of waste. The current linear model – extract, produce, consume and dispose – lacks reliable waste‑management and resource‑recovery systems, leading to a sharp rise in waste quantity and complexity.
Key Developments
- The Solid Waste Management Rules, 2026 reinforce source segregation and treatment of organic waste.
- According to the CEEW report, improved urban organic‑waste management could unlock a $51 billion market by 2047, attract $24 billion in investments and create about 26 lakh direct jobs.
- Responsibility for organic‑waste management is spread across 16 ministries, creating fragmented accountability.
- Existing schemes such as Swachh Bharat Mission‑Grameen and MGNREGS fund different parts of the waste‑management chain but lack a unified vision.
- Technologies such as bio‑methanation and production of bio‑CNG are highlighted as recovery options.
Important Facts
• Open burning of waste in both urban and rural areas adds to air‑pollution and health hazards.
• Mixed waste disposal contaminates recyclable streams, creates odour, attracts disease vectors and releases methane – a potent greenhouse gas.
• Organic waste can be recovered as compost, biogas, compressed biogas or bio‑char at the point of generation, providing nutrients for agriculture and reducing dependence on impor