Indian cities transitioning to circular solid resource management

With a population of over 1.3 billion people, accounting for 18 per cent of the global population living on only 2.4 per cent of the world’s surface, India is likely to face significant resource constraints in the coming decades. As of 2016, urban areas in India, representing about 377 million people, generated 62 million metric tonnes (MMT) of municipal solid waste each year. Of this, only about 70 per cent is collected due to insufficient municipal services

About 20 per cent of the collected wastes is treated, and the remaining 50 per cent is disposed in open landfills, without proper treatment or containment. By 2050, it is expected that about 50 per cent of India’s population will be urban, while waste generation will grow by 5 per cent per year. It is anticipated that by 2021, 2031, and 2050, waste arising will be around 101 MMT, 164 MMT, and 436 MMT per year, respectively. Therefore, solid waste management needs urgent attention, especially in urban centres, with focus on establishing resource efficient systems in cities.

Circular economy holds promise for achieving multiple SDGs, including SDG 6 on energy, 8 on economic growth, 11 on sustainable cities, 12 on sustainable consumption and production, 13 on climate change, 14 on oceans, and 15 on life on land (refer to the table ).

Need to initiate local policies

The transition from a linear to a circular economy (CE) requires joint efforts by stakeholders from all sectors. Policy makers can support the transition by promoting the reuse of materials and higher resource productivity by rethinking incentives and providing the right set of policies and access to financing. For instance, the local municipality of Vijayawada and Guntur are drafting the solid waste management and sanitation byelaws focussed on zero waste interventions. The byelaws will not only ensure maximum resource recovery but will further cement circular resource management and will act as model byelaws that could be replicated in other cities in the state of Andhra Pradesh.

Companies can contribute to the transition by developing competencies in circular design to implement product reuse, and recycling, and serving as trend-setters of innovative circular economy business models. Also, existing linear models can be shifted to circular infrastructure systems by focussing on frugal innovation systems that are affordable and easily available to many people in low-income groups, especially the informal sector.

Need for evidence-based action plans

Circular economy design should strive to be inclusive by considering how management decisions may impact various stakeholder groups, including the poor and other underrepresented segments of society that are especially vulnerable to the health impacts of waste proliferation. Under the auspices of the “Waste Wise Cities: Tackling Plastic Waste in the Environment” project, funded by the Alliance to End Plastic Waste, UN Habitat’s India office has used the proprietary Waste Wise Cities Tool (WaCT) based on SDG indicator 11.6.1 to help Mangaluru conduct proper surveys and assessments. The data generated after the application of WaCT will help the city in preparing a clear-cut roadmap of solid waste management on the principles of circular economy to tackle the problem of municipal solid waste in the years to come. It is imperative for cities to conduct such detailed resource inventory studies to prepare evidencebased circular plans.

Initiatives to reduce GHGs

Moreover, material throughput is a major driver of GHG emissions, and hence waste reduction and setting up circular resource recovery systems in cities will significantly decrease energy and material demand and the associated GHG emissions throughout global supply chains. Vijayawada city has taken the lead to minimise disposal and GHGs. Prior to 2018, about 3 lakh MT of legacy waste was accumulated in an 18-hectare open dumping site located in Ajit Singh Nagar, a residential locality in Vijayawada. The waste accumulated for more than a decade in the dumping yard was a major concern in the city due to methane emissions, and adverse environmental and health related impacts. In 2018, the city government treated the legacy waste through biomining process and retained the land. The land is now being developed as a public park.

Bhopal Municipal Corporation recently initiated a project to convert 200 tonnes of urban organic waste

Swati Singh Sambyal

Waste Management Specialist UN-Habitat India

manSi Sachdev

Senior Urban Planner UN-Habitat India. Contribution of circular economy in SWM to SDGs

SDG Intervention SDG 2 Zero hunger

By reducing food losses and food waste, and building circular, regenerative food systems. According to the FAO, up to 40 per cent of the food produced in India is wasted. Food disposed of in landfills produces methane, a potent greenhouse gas. A circular food system should also be regenerative, resilient and healthy. The rehabilitation of degraded land can be achieved by reconnecting nutrient loops. Farms should be located close to consumers through urban and peri-urban farming. Organic agriculture would minimise the need for fertilisers and pesticides. Using agricultural residues and organic waste for composting or biogas production is relatively easy to implement, with benefits in the field of waste management, soil quality, emissions to air and resource utilisation

SDG 3 Good health and well being

Reduction of waste and pollution will lessen the impacts on health caused due to mismanagement of waste affecting land, water, air resources

SDG 6 Clean water and sanitation

Adopting zero waste circular resource interventions will further ensure access to clean water and sanitation for all by reducing pollution caused by land-based waste mismanagement

SDG 8 Decent work and economic growth

By improving working conditions in informal sectors processing secondary resources, or by establishing industrial symbiosis networks for resource-efficient industrial development Promoting circular economy approaches in MSMEs and entrepreneurship support in development cooperation programmes can be a way forward

SDG 9 Industry, innovation and infrastructure SDG 11 Sustainable cities and communities

By improving housing conditions in informal settlements (waste pickers, informal sector)

SDG 12 Responsible consumption and production

By adopting circular economy practices in waste management sector, including reverse logistics, beneficial reuse of wasted materials or energy (eg., composting, used oil recovery, bio digestion of organics), and business model innovation (eg., dematerialization, resource pooling, product-as-a-service)

SDG 13 Climate action

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from waste management activities and their contribution to climate change is one of the critical environmental concerns. Methane (CH4) is the major GHG emitted from the waste sector, and open dumping and landfilling has been reported as the third highest anthropogenic CH4 emission source. There is an urgent need to establish impetus and showcase better circular mechanisms and systems that can help reduce the burdens on cities into equivalent Bio CNG, which can be utilised as fuel. To complete the loop of the organic waste value chain, the city administration is procuring 100 CNGoperated waste collection vehicles. The fuel generated by processing the organic waste will be utilized to collect the waste from households. This intervention addresses SDG 11, 12 and 13 in the local context.

Cities in India are already exploring concepts and taking implementable actions to localise SDGs with focus on circular economy.

However, there is a vast need to capacitate local bodies and relevant stakeholders on the importance of adoption of circular resource management systems.

[The views expressed are the author’s own. They do not purport to reflect the views of Urban Update.]