Sixty-four percent of the Indian population lives in rural areas, yet waste is largely perceived as an urban challenge by the government and key decision-makers. As a result, waste management strategies are primarily designed for the urban context. As per the Central Pollution Control Board, India generated 1,70,338 tons of solid waste per day in 2021–2022. However, these statistics do not take into account the waste generated by villages. Consequently, the total and per capita waste generation figures for states are inaccurate as they do not consider the substantial contribution of rural populations, which according to the last available survey by the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation stands at 0.3–0.4 million tons per day. This data gap significantly hinders our understanding of the true scale of India’s waste management problem.
While the government has recognised this issue and initiated efforts like the Swachh Bharat Mission-Grameen to improve rural sanitation, the idea that Indian villages don’t face the issue of pollution or waste is misplaced. Waste generation and management in rural India is more complex than it may appear to be. These nuances are particularly evident when one examines prevailing myths about rural waste management.
Myth 1: People in villages breathe clean air
Much like large cities such as Delhi and Lucknow, Indian villages are facing severe AQI issues. Air pollution in non-urban areas is primarily attributed to the burning of agricultural residue and cooking with solid fuels. At Saahas, we have also observed that the quantity of dry waste collected during winter is substantially lesser than in summer, as people tend to burn plastic and other waste more during the winter months for cooking and heating purposes.
Myth 2: People in villages don’t consume packaged food
The fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector is catering to the growing demand for packaged food and convenience items in Indian villages, which have witnessed an increase in disposable income. Higher consumption of packed food is directly correlated with the proportion of non-recyclable waste generated. Such waste includes multi-layered packaging made out of low-value plastics, which are difficult to collect and recycle.
Myth 3: Waste mounds are an urban problem
Lifestyle changes driven by economic growth and the ease of access to various consumer goods have altered consumption patterns in rural India. There is a rise in the use of packaged commodities in villages, and the small sachet–packaged items by FMCG companies further compound the issue of litter.
Myth 4: Community events in villages are zero-waste
Single-use disposable tableware is a popular choice in village events as well. The cheap price points and easy availability make them an affordable and convenient alternative to the reusable tableware that was used not so long ago. Single-use disposables are therefore making their way into most community events, and this ultimately contributes to the accumulation of solid waste.
Myth 5: Sanitary waste is an urban phenomenon
Thanks to mass awareness campaigns and government schemes such as the Menstrual Hygiene Scheme under the National Health Mission, which provides sanitary pads to adolescent girls at a subsidised rate, access to sanitary napkins in rural areas has improved. However, due to the absence of any scalable solution for resource recovery or recycling and the high cost of biomedical incineration, the accumulation of sanitary waste is now creating a waste disposal challenge. This has led to local waste collectors making sanitary pits lined with plastic to bury sanitary waste.
Myth 6: There is no source segregation or waste management infrastructure in villages
While it is true that most Indian villages lack formal waste collection or management infrastructure to process the waste they generate, such systems are gradually taking shape. Segregating waste at source is considered the Achilles heel of rural waste management because it requires behaviour change. However, our teams at Saahas found greater success in behaviour change interventions in rural areas as compared to their urban counterparts. Many villages are also setting up resource recovery centres or material recovery facilities to process all streams of waste in a scientific manner.
Our cities are already challenged by a massive solid waste disposal problem, and have been in the spotlight for promoting false solutions offering quick fixes to the crisis. As lifestyles in our villages shift, it is necessary for these regions to develop sustainable waste management practices that align with their relationship with nature. Through our work at Saahas, we hope to promote sustainable solid waste management as well as enable just transition by creating green jobs in the sector, serving as an example of circular economy in action.
The field teams at Saahas contributed to this article.
Know more
- Read this paper on the scale of the plastic disposal problem in rural India.
- Read this article on the drawbacks of India’s waste to energy plants.
