Background

Municipalities in India produce approximately 160,039 tonnes of solid waste daily. Of this amount, approximately 153,000 TPD is collected, around 50 percent is treated, roughly 18 percent is landfilled, and around 32 percent goes missing from the management system, suggesting leakage to open dumps and ecosystems. There are around 3,184 documented dumpsites across India, with only a small number of sites becoming fully rehabilitated, exacerbating the ongoing air quality, groundwater, and disease burdens associated with methane emissions from anaerobic decomposition. Large metropolitan cities generally produce about 0.5–1.0 kg of solid waste per capita, in part due to increasing incomes and urbanization, which increase volumes. Structural gaps exist throughout the entire management chain, including low source segregation, limited processing capacity, high logistics costs in centralized systems, and low rates of cost recovery at the urban block level.

Hyderabad, in particular, disposes of approximately 8,000 tonnes of waste per day to a single dump yard located in Jawaharnagar. This single-site dependence creates operational pinch points for public and private operators, including long-haul distances, concerns about odors and leachate for neighboring communities, and limited surge capacity during festivals or during monsoon rains. Efforts to decentralize and add facilities (such as the proposed site at Pyaranagar, Sangareddy) face community opposition, environmental challenges, and land-use/defense limitations that slow the permitting process, financing, and increase project risk. Even where there are waste-to-energy and waste processing facilities, they often fail to meet and adapt to changing waste volumes, thereby degrading public trust and heightening regulatory expectations.  

Hence, WasteMatters was conceived as a crucial intervention to support burdened organizations with resources and infrastructural development that would help them continue their ongoing solid waste management efforts.