What are the impediments in disposing the huge quantities of discarded solid wastes which are continuously being generated? How do we remove safely the toxic wastes that have been accumulating in our habitable environment?
Approach · directive: “what / how”
What it asks · State the obstacles to disposing of ever-growing solid waste, and describe safe ways to remove the toxic and hazardous waste that has built up around us.
It asks 2 things — answer each
- What: the impediments to disposing of the huge and growing quantities of solid waste
- How: safe ways to remove the toxic wastes that have accumulated in the habitable environment
Open with · India generates 1,70,339 tonnes of solid waste a day, 92 per cent collected but only 54 per cent treated (CPCB 2021-22); the rest feeds dumps while hazardous, biomedical and e-waste add toxins.
Cover
- Scale: 1,70,339 tonnes a day generated, 92 per cent collected, 54 per cent treated (CPCB annual report 2021-22).
- Impediments: no segregation at source, cash-strapped urban local bodies, no landfill land, weak enforcement of SWM Rules 2016, waste-pickers excluded.
- Legacy: of 2,492 lakh tonnes in old dumps, 58 per cent remediated by September 2025 under SBM-Urban 2.0 (PIB).
- Toxic waste rules: Hazardous and Other Wastes, Bio-medical and Plastic Waste Rules 2016; E-Waste Rules 2022 with EPR recycling targets (PIB).
- Treatment: manifests to authorised facilities, secure landfills, incineration, co-processing; take-back of batteries and electronics.
- Clean-up: bio-mining of legacy dumps, remediation of contaminated sites, pollution-board monitoring, Basel Convention on hazardous imports.
- Model and outlook: Indore in the Super Swachh League (Swachh Survekshan 2024-25); SWM Rules 2026 mandate four-stream segregation and polluter pays.
Close with · The SWM Rules, 2026 make four-stream segregation mandatory with polluter pays; treating waste as a resource near its source, with waste-pickers inside the system and landfills last, is how the dump gives way to a circular economy.
Add value (verified)
- The Environment Ministry notified the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2026 in January 2026, superseding the 2016 rules from 1 April 2026; they make four-stream segregation at source mandatory and apply the polluter pays principle.New Solid Waste Management Rules Notified; To Come into Force from April 1, 2026, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, PIB (28 January 2026) ↗“Four-stream segregation of solid waste at source has been made mandatory under the SWM Rules, 2026. Waste is required to be segregated into wet waste, dry waste, sanitary waste and special care waste.”
- CPCB's annual report for 2021-22 puts solid waste generation at 1,70,339 TPD, collection at 1,56,449 TPD (92 per cent) and processing or treatment at 91,511 TPD (54 per cent of generation).CPCB: Annual Report 2021-22 on implementation of Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016 (national summary) ↗“the total quantity of solid waste generated in the country is 1,70,339 TPD and the total waste collected is 1,56,449 TPD. This translates to overall efficiency 92% with regards to waste collection in the country.”
- CPCB 2021-22: 91,511 TPD of waste is processed or treated, 54 per cent of total generation.CPCB: Annual Report 2021-22 on Solid Waste Management Rules (processing summary) ↗“As per the data received from SPCBs/ PCCs a total of 91,511 TPD of waste is processed or treated, which equates to 54% of the total waste generation.”
- Under SBM-Urban, of 2,492 lakh tonnes of legacy waste in dumpsites, 1,437 lakh tonnes (58 per cent) had been remediated by September 2025.PIB backgrounder: Swachhata Hi Seva 2025 (Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, 25 September 2025), legacy waste remediation ↗“Out of a massive 2,492 lakh tonnes of legacy waste, 1,437 lakh tonnes (58%) have already been remediated, helping regenerate degraded lands.”
- The Environment Ministry lists the rules notified under the Environment (Protection) Act for waste streams: Solid, Plastic, Bio-medical, Construction and Demolition, Hazardous and Other Wastes (2016), E-waste (2022) and Battery Waste (2022).PIB: Several waste management rules notified under Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 (MoEFCC, Rajya Sabha reply, December 2023) ↗“(iii) Bio-medical Waste Management Rules, 2016, (iv) Construction and Demolition Waste Management Rules, 2016, (v) Hazardous and other wastes (Management and Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2016, (vi) E-waste Management Rules, 2022, (vii) Battery Waste Management Rules, 2022.”
- Swachh Survekshan 2024-25: Indore, Surat and Navi Mumbai entered the premier Super Swachh League, with awards conferred by the President.PIB: President Confers Swachh Survekshan 2024-25 Awards (Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, July 2025) ↗“President Confers Swachh Survekshan 2024-25 Awards Indore, Surat, Navi Mumbai enter the premier Super Swachh League”
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2018, GS Paper III — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 3 Oct 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·
Model answer· 224words · Minimalist IAS
India generates 1,70,339 tonnes of solid waste a day; 92% is collected but only 54% treated (CPCB, 2021-22). The rest feeds dumps leaking leachate and methane, while hazardous, biomedical and e-waste add toxins.
Impediments to disposing of solid waste
- No segregation at source: mixed waste can be neither composted nor recycled, so it goes to dumps.
- Institutional gaps: cash-strapped urban local bodies, no land for sanitary landfills, weak enforcement of the SWM Rules, 2016, and waste-pickers left outside.
- Legacy mountains: of 2,492 lakh tonnes in old dumps, 58% was remediated by September 2025 under SBM-Urban 2.0.
How toxic waste can be removed safely
- Segregate at source
- track by manifest
- treat at authorised facility
- secure landfill only for residue
- Dedicated rules: Hazardous, Bio-medical and Plastic Waste Rules (2016) and the E-Waste Rules, 2022 with recycling targets under extended producer responsibility.
- Treatment: secure landfills, incineration and cement-kiln co-processing at authorised facilities.
- Clean-up: bio-mining of legacy dumps, remediation of contaminated sites, pollution-board monitoring, and the Basel Convention against hazardous imports.
- Model: Indore, in the premier Super Swachh League of Swachh Survekshan 2024-25, shows collection and processing working at city scale.
The SWM Rules, 2026 make four-stream segregation mandatory with polluter pays; treating waste as a resource near its source, with waste-pickers inside the system and landfills last, is how the dump gives way to a circular economy.
Prepared by Minimalist IAS to the answer standard of Shivam Singh (mentor, 7 years) · facts checked against official sources (how we verify) · updated 3 Oct 2026. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.
