{"id":83623,"date":"2026-09-01T18:37:06","date_gmt":"2026-09-01T13:07:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=83623"},"modified":"2026-09-01T18:37:41","modified_gmt":"2026-09-01T13:07:41","slug":"northeast-waste-management-models","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/01-09-2026\/northeast-waste-management-models","title":{"rendered":"N-E Models of Waste Management"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS2\/Governance; GS3\/ Environment<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The<strong> Majuli (Assam) and Tawang (Arunachal Pradesh) models of waste management<\/strong> demonstrated how community participation, decentralised systems and locally adapted financing models can improve waste management.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>About Majuli and Tawang Rural Waste Management Models<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Majuli Model:<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Central Material Collection Facilities (CMCFs)<\/strong> were established across most panchayats, along with village-level collection facilities.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Decentralised sorting:<\/strong> Non-biodegradable waste is segregated before being sent to scrap dealers and recyclers.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Government\u2013NGO partnership:<\/strong> Government agencies provide infrastructure and vehicles, while organisations such as Saahas support staffing and capacity building.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Tawang Model:<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Swachchata Divas:<\/strong> Instead of expensive door-to-door collection, villagers collectively bring waste to a designated location and sort it.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Multi-category segregation: <\/strong>Waste is initially sorted into 22 categories and subsequently into around 35 categories at Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>User charges: <\/strong>Households pay around \u20b950 per month, while shops and caf\u00e9s pay around \u20b9100, creating a local financing mechanism.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Solid Waste Generation in India<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>In FY 2021\u201322, <\/strong>India generated <strong>170,000 tonnes of municipal solid waste per day, <\/strong>about 156,000 tonnes were collected, of which nearl<strong>y 54% was treated, and 24% was deposited in landfills.\u00a0<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The<strong> remaining 22% was unaccounted<\/strong> for due to leakages in the waste supply chain.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Indian cities will generate <strong>approximately 435 million tonnes of solid waste by 2050 (MoHUA 2021).<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>There are <strong>only 645 landfills in operation<\/strong> and the total number of existing dumpsites in the country is 2,452.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What are the difficulties in managing waste?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Changing patterns of consumption: <\/strong>The rising penetration of packaged food, beverages, personal-care products and multi-layered plastics has increased non-biodegradable waste in villages.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>High collection costs: <\/strong>Collection and transportation are costly because of dispersed settlements, difficult terrain, poor roads and long distances to recyclers.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Open dumping: <\/strong>In the absence of formal systems, waste is dumped in fields, water bodies or openly burnt, leading to soil, water and air pollution.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Poor segregation at source: <\/strong>Wet, dry, sanitary and hazardous wastes are often mixed at the household level, making recycling, composting and scientific treatment difficult.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Government initiatives<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016:<\/strong> Mandates segregation of waste at source into biodegradable, non-biodegradable, and domestic hazardous waste.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Promotes waste processing through composting, bio-methanation, and waste-to-energy technologies.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Encourages bulk waste generators (housing societies, hotels, etc.) to process their own waste.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM):<\/strong><strong>SBM-Urban<\/strong> focuses on 100% door-to-door waste collection and encourages source segregation.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>SBM-Rural<\/strong> promotes biodegradable waste composting and bio-gas plants in villages.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Waste-to-Energy Projects:<\/strong> The government is encouraging waste-to-energy plants to convert non-recyclable waste into electricity.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR):<\/strong> Under EPR rules, manufacturers and producers must take responsibility for managing post-consumer waste (e.g., plastic waste, e-waste).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>NAMASTE Scheme (National Action for Mechanized Sanitation Ecosystem): <\/strong>A formal initiative to recognize and include waste pickers in the sanitation and waste management strategy.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Provides occupational safety training, health insurance (under Ayushman Bharat-PMJAY), and capital subsidies for waste collectors.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Way Ahead<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Community ownership:<\/strong> Treat citizens as active participants rather than merely beneficiaries.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Local adaptation:<\/strong> Use door-to-door collection where feasible and community collection where settlements are scattered.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>User financing:<\/strong> Introduce affordable and locally determined waste-management fees.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Government\u2013community partnership: <\/strong>Combine public infrastructure and funding with community ownership.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Market linkages:<\/strong> Establish reliable connections with recyclers and scrap dealers.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Data generation: <\/strong>Maintain reliable data on waste generation, collection, processing and costs.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/sci-tech\/energy-and-environment\/what-two-districts-can-teach-india-about-dealing-with-rural-waste\/article71409651.ece\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>TH<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><strong> Context <\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> The Majuli (Assam) and Tawang (Arunachal Pradesh) models of waste management demonstrated how community participation, decentralised systems and locally adapted financing models can improve waste management. <\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong> About Majuli and Tawang Rural Waste Management Models <\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> Majuli Model: <\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> Central Material Collection Facilities (CMCFs) were established across most panchayats, along with village-level collection facilities. <\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> Decentralised sorting: Non-biodegradable waste is segregated before being sent to scrap dealers and recyclers. <\/li>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/01-09-2026\/northeast-waste-management-models\" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-83623","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83623","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=83623"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83623\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":83626,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83623\/revisions\/83626"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=83623"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=83623"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=83623"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}