Circular Economy in India: Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle Through Policy Framework

Abstract

In India, waste generation is increasing due to rapid industrialization and urbanization. For ensuring the safety of environment and sustainable management of waste, the statutory guidelines, rules, and principles are set. It is very important that how effectively these rules are implemented. The Environment Protection Act (EPA) in 1986 and subsequently a number of other rules supporting sustainable management of wastes were established in India to protect environmental quality and reduction of pollution from all potential sources in India. Based on the 3Rs (reduce–reuse–recycle) and circular economy concepts, the recirculation of wastes through different recycling and recovery techniques developing business models is being promoted in the country. Several technologies have been in practice in India for effective utilization of waste, e.g., waste-to-energy, transfer–storage–dispose–facility (TSDF), composting, biomethanation, co-processing, and a few other processes which are playing vital role. The successful management of waste has turned into business models in waste management streams introducing integrated waste management facilities, which supports the treatment of multiple wastes at single facility, with time and cost effectiveness. India has experienced a robust economic performance in recent decades and could enable a significant reduction in poverty levels, citizen’s better accessibility to energy, and enhanced accessibility to clean energy across the economy with a 9% growth rate target. India is on a growth path to achieve a USD 5 trillion economies by 2024–2025, making it the fastest-growing biggest democracy and large economy worldwide. However, the very recent pandemic COVID-19 in 2020 probably retards the growth to certain extent. The Government of India (GoI) in 2018 announced a target of renewable capacities of 227 GW to be achieved by 2022 and 275 GW to be achieved by 2027. However, the electricity generated from WtE plants is only 66.4 MW per day, of which the 52 MW per day is generated in Delhi by its three existing plants. The water in surface and ground water courses is being polluted by the discharge of untreated sewage. Sewage generated is 38,000 million liter per day but the treatment capacity exists for nearly 12,000 million liter per day. However, 100% utilization of the existing capacity has not been achieved due to operation and maintenance problem. Sewage discharge without treatment in some cities is a big challenge in India. The main initiatives supporting the circular economy implementation are Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) initiated in 2014, establishing set of six documents on waste management rules, incorporation of zero defects and zero effect (ZED) in SMEs, renewable energy targets, and the very recent release of draft of Nations Resource Efficiency 2019 and draft Battery Waste Management Rules 2020. The present study focuses on the trend followed in India regarding the implementation of circular economy and resource circulation.