Circular Economy & Urban Waste Management in India 

 

Syllabus Mapping

• GS Paper 1: Urbanization, their problems and their remedies.

• GS Paper 2: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors (Swachh Bharat Mission).

• GS Paper 3: Environmental Pollution and Degradation; Conservation (Circular Economy).

 

Why in News?

Urban waste management has gained renewed global focus after COP30 (Belem, 2025) placed waste and circularity at the core of climate action, committing funds to cut methane emissions through initiatives like No Organic Waste (NOW).

 

Key Highlights

• The Scale of the Urban Crisis:

  • Projected Burden: Indian cities are estimated to generate 165 million tonnes of waste annually by 2030, emitting over 41 million tonnes of Greenhouse Gases (GHG).

  • Goal: The Garbage Free Cities (GFC) objective under Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) Urban 2.0 is now an existential necessity by 2026.

• Sector-Specific Challenges:

  • Construction & Demolition (C&D) Waste: Cities generate ~12 million tonnes of C&D waste annually (collateral damage from rapid infrastructure growth). Much of it is unscientifically dumped, choking cities.

  • Policy Update: New Construction and Demolition Waste Management Rules, 2025 are set to come into effect from April 1, 2026, levying charges on generators of high volumes of debris.

  • Wastewater: Water security is critical; AMRUT and SBM focus on recycling used water, but current infrastructure is inadequate.

• The "Circularity" Solution:

  • Organic Waste: Can be turned into compost or Compressed Biogas (CBG). Initiatives like No Organic Waste (NOW) at COP30 aim to tackle methane from this segment.

  • Plastic: Poses the toughest challenge due to segregation difficulties. Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) has yet to cover all categories of dry waste effectively.

 

Critical Analysis:

• Significance:

  • Decoupling Growth from Waste: Moving from a "linear" (take-make-dispose) to a "circular" (reduce-reuse-recycle) economy is the only way to sustain India's urbanization without ecological collapse.

  • Health & Climate Co-benefits: Proper waste management reduces methane (a potent GHG) and prevents waterborne diseases caused by leachate contamination.

• Challenges:

  • Behavioral Inertia: The article highlights that in an increasingly consumerist society, the "Reduce" and "Reuse" principles are failing against the convenience of "use-and-throw" products.

  • Economic Viability: Recycled products (like C&D aggregates) often face quality issues and lack market demand compared to virgin materials, making the business model fragile without government mandates.

 

Value Addition (Data Point)

• Data on Sewage Treatment: A 2024 report by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) reveals that 72% of sewage in Indian cities remains untreated, with only 28% being processed. This underscores the massive gap between the "reuse" goals of AMRUT 2.0 and ground reality.

 

Conclusion:

India stands at a critical juncture where urbanization can either be a demographic dividend or an ecological disaster. The shift to a circular economy, backed by global initiatives like NOW and domestic enforcement of the C&D Rules 2025, offers a pathway to transform "waste-ridden" cities into resource-efficient engines of growth.

 

Mains Question:

"The transition from a 'linear' to a 'circular' economy in urban waste management is not merely a technical challenge but a behavioral and institutional one." Discuss this statement in the context of the Swachh Bharat Mission 2.0 and the challenges of managing Construction & Demolition (C&D) waste. (15 Marks/250 words)

 

Preliminary Question

With reference to the recent developments in urban waste management and climate action mentioned in the news, consider the following statements:

1. The 'No Organic Waste' (NOW) initiative was launched at COP30 to accelerate circularity and reduce methane emissions from organic waste.

2. The Construction and Demolition Waste Management Rules, 2025 are scheduled to come into effect from April 1, 2026.

3. The 'Garbage Free Cities' (GFC) is a key objective under the AMRUT mission, targeting complete waste remediation by 2030.

Which of the statements given above are correct? 

(A) 1 and 2 only 

(B) 2 only 

(C) 1 and 3 only 

(D) 1, 2 and 3

Answer: (A)

Explanation:

• Statement 1 is correct: The article states that COP30 in Belem (Nov 2025) saw the launch of the No Organic Waste (NOW) initiative.

• Statement 2 is correct: The article explicitly mentions that the Environment (Construction and Demolition) Waste Management Rules, 2025 are to come into effect from April 1, 2026.

• Statement 3 is incorrect: 'Garbage Free Cities' (GFC) is the primary objective of Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0 (SBM-U 2.0), not AMRUT (which focuses on water/sewage). Also, the target mentioned in the context for GFC is 2026, not 2030.