Rapid industrialization, urbanization, and shifting consumption patterns have led to a dramatic rise in municipal solid waste (MSW) generation.
Introduction: Rethinking the Linear Model
As global awareness deepens around the unsustainability of the linear economy—where resources are extracted, consumed, and discarded—nations are increasingly embracing the concept of circular economy (CE). This transformative framework seeks to eliminate waste and pollution, preserve the value of products and materials, and regenerate natural systems through continuous reuse and recovery.
In India, the urgency to adopt circular practices is growing. Rapid industrialization, urbanization, and shifting consumption patterns have led to a dramatic rise in municipal solid waste (MSW) generation. The country produces approximately 62 million tonnes of MSW annually, most of which remains unsegregated and ends up in landfills. These unsanitary dumping practices pose serious threats—from leachate contamination and methane emissions to increased public health risks in urban and peri-urban areas.
Given this escalating crisis, India must transition from conventional disposal methods to sustainable, inclusive waste management systems. Circular economy strategies offer a powerful path forward by closing resource loops at micro (individual), meso (community or industry), and macro (system-wide) levels (Fiksel, Sanjay, and Raman 2021).
Beyond Sustainability: Linking Circularity with Equity
The UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development reinforces that environmental progress must be grounded in social justice. A truly circular transition must therefore not only address ecological degradation but also ensure that economic opportunities are shared equitably, especially with those who have historically been marginalized.
In India, this dimension is critical. Low-income communities often bear the brunt of poor waste management practices, living near open dumps or working in unsafe conditions. Meanwhile, formalizing waste systems—although important for efficiency and regulation—can displace informal workers who rely on waste collection and recycling for their livelihoods.
This dual challenge underscores the need for a just transition—one that safeguards existing livelihoods while enabling new, sustainable pathways for social and economic inclusion.
Waste Management and the Informal Sector: A Critical Nexus
India’s waste economy is significantly supported by the informal sector—including waste pickers, collectors, sorters, and small-scale recyclers. These workers perform vital functions such as door-to-door collection, material recovery, and recycling. Yet, they often operate under hazardous and unregulated conditions, with little or no recognition, social security, or financial stability (Gupta and Priya 2019). Despite these vulnerabilities, informal workers are essential to the functioning of circular systems. They reduce landfill dependency, promote material recovery, and support municipal services that are often overburdened. However, they remain excluded from formal policy frameworks and are not represented in traditional just transition structures, which typically include employers, organized labour, and governments (Circular Innovation Lab 2023).
Cities like Pune have pioneered inclusive approaches. For instance, the Solid Waste Collection and Handling (SWaCH) cooperative partnership between informal waste pickers and the Pune Municipal Corporation—demonstrates how the informal workforce can be integrated into the formal waste ecosystem. The cooperative provides dignified employment, stable income, access to safety gear, and strengthens citywide waste management through decentralized services (SWaCH 2023).
The Just Transition Imperative
Achieving a just and inclusive circular economy requires that the transition recognizes and empowers those at the margin, especially informal workers. These individuals fill critical gaps in urban sanitation infrastructure, particularly in underserved neighbourhoods. Yet, they continue to face social stigma, low earnings, irregular payments, and exposure to harmful waste materials.
Government frameworks such as the Solid Waste Management Rules (2016) and the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) acknowledge the importance of integrating waste workers through cooperatives and self-help groups. However, implementation is inconsistent across cities. A stronger push is needed to provide policy clarity, financial support, and institutional mechanisms for worker integration.
Strategies Towards a Just Circular Transition
To embed equity in India’s circular transition, several enabling strategies must be pursued:
1. Policy Frameworks and Cross-Sector Collaboration
Robust, inclusive, and enforceable policies are central to enabling circularity. Governments must lead by designing regulations that promote collaboration between municipal authorities, private actors, NGOs, and waste-worker collectives. Drawing from the EU Circular Economy Action Plan, India can emphasize stakeholder engagement and systemic innovation (Ellen MacArthur Foundation 2022).
2. Fair Payment and Financial Access
Informal workers often prioritize waste with market value, leaving behind low-value but environmentally harmful materials such as multi-layered plastics. A shift towards a service-based model—where waste workers are fairly compensated for collecting and processing all types of waste—is essential. This must be accompanied by regular payments, microfinance access, insurance, and social security mechanisms (Bunemann, et al. 2020).
3. Education, Skill Development, and Technology Access
Equipping waste workers with modern skills is key to enabling their participation in a CE. Municipalities should invest in training programmes on safe waste handling, advanced sorting, digital tools, and recycling technologies. This not only improves worker safety and productivity but also opens opportunities for entrepreneurship in upcycling, repair, and reuse markets.
India’s Path Forward: Integrating Innovation and Inclusion
Across Indian cities and towns, several innovative CE models are already demonstrating the power of combining circularity with social inclusion:
Ambikapur (Chhattisgarh): A city with decentralized waste management led by women’s self-help groups, achieving 100% source segregation and zero landfill use. This model promotes community participation while generating livelihoods for marginalized groups.
Phool (Kanpur) and Nirmalaya (Delhi): Social enterprises that convert temple floral waste into incense, compost, and biodegradable leather alternatives. These ventures create green jobs for women and youth, particularly those transitioning from the informal economy.
Chennai and Patna: Implementation of small-scale anaerobic digestion plants that process market waste into bio-CNG and compost, offering potential employment for informal workers in collection, sorting, and pre-processing stages.
Each of these examples shows that inclusive innovation is not only possible, but also essential for the circular economy to deliver its full potential.
Conclusion
India’s transition to a circular economy is both an environmental necessity and a socio-economic opportunity. It allows the country to reimagine resource consumption, reduce ecological footprints, and empower underserved communities through new economic pathways.
Bibliography
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2. Circular Innovation Lab. 2023. Ensuring a Fair and Just Transition to a Circular Economy. March 15. Accessed June 25, 2024. https://www.circularinnovationlab.com/post/ensuring-a-fair-and-just-transition-to-a-circular-economy.
3. Ellen MacArthur Foundation. 2022. "The EU's Circualr Economy Action Plan." January 12. Accessed June 25, 2024. https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/circular-examples/the-eus-circular-economy-action-plan.
4. Fiksel, Joseph, Praveena Sanjay, and Kavya Raman. 2021. "Steps toward a resilient circular economy in India." Clean Technol Environ Policy 203-218. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7655910/.
5. Gupta, Sonam, and Shubhangi Priya. 2019. The State of Informal Waste Workers in India. SPRF. https://sprf.in/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/19.8.2020_The-State-of-Informal-Waste-Workers-In-India.pdf.
6. SWaCH. 2023. SWaCH Impact 2023. Accessed June 25, 2024. https://swachcoop.com/.