Overview
- The Solid Waste Management Rules, which take effect Wednesday, require households and businesses to sort waste into wet, dry, sanitary and special-care streams, and allow sanitation workers to refuse unsegregated trash.
- Large generators must register on a central portal and manage their own waste, with Extended Bulk Waste Generator Responsibility applying to sites over 20,000 square metres, 40,000 litres of daily water use, or 100 kg of trash a day.
- A national online system now tracks collection through disposal and requires facilities to file reports and undergo audits, with the CPCB’s Central Implementation Committee overseeing rollout.
- Cities must prepare time-bound plans to clear legacy dumps and face tighter limits on landfilling, backed by environmental compensation under the polluter-pays principle.
- Cement and waste-to-energy plants must raise refuse-derived fuel use from 5% to 15% over six years, a shift meant to move burnable waste out of dumps and cut methane and fire risk.