India's Circular Economy Shift: Challenges in Waste Management Implementation

Thanks to new guidelines, waste management in India will shift toward a circular economy, embedding extended producer responsibility and ‘polluter pays’ principle into the waste governance structure. Almost a decade after notification of Solid Waste Management (SWM) Rules, 2016, the government has unveiled the new regulatory framework: the SWM Rules, 2026 under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, bringing them into force from April 1. The evolution of India’s waste regulations, from the early 2000 rules to the 2016 overhaul and now the anticipated 2026 framework have had experts say the challenge is not a lack of policy, but a persistent gap in execution. The coming rules promise sharper accountability and clearer systems, but their success will hinge on two long-standing urban hurdles: source segregation and litter control. “At the heart of effective waste management is the ability of citizens to segregate waste at the point of generation. Without this first step, downstream processing like recycling, composting, or safe disposal becomes significantly more difficult and expensive,” says Suneel Pandey, director, circular economy and waste management division, The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI). There is a mandatory four-stream segregation of waste at source — wet, dry, sanitary, and special care waste. Wet waste must be composted or processed through biomethanation (the breakdown of organic matter by microorganisms in an oxygen-free environment), producing methane-rich biogas (which can be used for energy) and a liquid slurry that can be used as biofertiliser; dry waste routed to material recovery facilities (MRFs) for recycling; sanitary waste securely wrapped and separately stored; and special care waste, such as bulbs and medicines, collected through authorised channels. The 2026 rule is important for municipal waste. Any municipal waste generated by hospital wards or canteens, for instance, is regulated as a municipal waste. Other commercial activities like management of railway stations, airport premises would typically come under these rules. While the monitoring mechanism remains a challenge, Pandey feels there is a need to maintain a compliance mechanism for gated communities, hotel waste, malls, airports, railway management, etc. Some cities have demonstrated success in solid waste management. Urban centres like Indore, Mysuru have consistently ranked high in cleanliness surveys due to sustained public engagement and strong municipal enforcement. Also, parts of Bengaluru have shown progress in decentralised waste management models. “But the story is starkly different in megacities like Mumbai and Delhi. Here, scale becomes the central obstacle. Dense populations, sprawling geographies, and vast socio-economic diversity make uniform compliance difficult. In informal settlements, daily survival often takes precedence over civic compliance. In high-rise apartments, monitoring segregation practices is another logistical challenge altogether,” says Pandey. The result is uneven implementation-even when policies are robust on paper. The second major concern is littering. While segregation addresses what happens inside homes and establishments, littering reflects public behaviour in shared spaces. So without consistent enforcement and visible penalties, anti-littering measures rarely gain traction. “Municipal bodies can create systems, but behavioural change depends heavily on citizen participation. Public awareness campaigns, community-led initiatives, and stricter fines will all play a role. Yet these measures require sustained political will-something that has historically waned after initial enthusiasm,” adds Pandey. With the rules expected to be notified in April, implementation is dependent on how cities respond, how state municipal corporations interpret the framework, and whether citizens engage or resist.