India faces challenges in managing waste. The informal sector plays a significant role in extracting value from waste, but many challenges remain.

• Rapid urbanization: Urban areas with 377 million people generate about 62 million tons of solid waste every year. However, only 43 million tons are collected, and the rest ends up untreated or in landfills.
• E-waste is also a growing concern, with projections showing a substantial increase in e-waste generation.
• Lack of adequate garbage collection infrastructure, with only 21 million garbage collectors compared to China’s 700 million.
• Sorting recyclable materials is also a problem, as only about 30% of waste is properly sorted, leading valuable materials like aluminum and plastics to end up in landfills instead of being recycled.