Sustainable Municipal Waste Management in India
White Paper on Removing Barriers to Sustainable Municipal Solid Waste Management using Anaerobic Digestion in India
India is the 5th largest economy in the world today with an ambition to become a USD 3 trillion economy (making it the 3rd largest economy in the world) by 2025. Accompanied by this ambitious target is the fact that in a similar timeframe India will be the most populous nation with its urban population increasing at a rate of 3-3.5% per annum. 
Nonetheless, this surge brings about an increase in urbanisation and demand across utilities such as food, water, energy, housing, and sanitation. These multifaceted requirements are crucial for the economic growth, but it must be ensured that the economic growth is backed by sustainability and judicious utilisation of natural resources.
Being a signatory to the Paris Agreement and adopting the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), India today must adopt alternatives means of energy generation. And one of the key resources here would be “Waste” – the municipal solid waste, which India generates per annum.
The focus of this paper is on the different technologies that are available, such as anaerobic digestion, composting, incineration, and the technologies that would be advisable for India to fulfil its Paris Agreement, SDGs as well as achieving sustainable economic growth. The paper also focuses on the regulatory and policy framework on how India has assimilated “municipal solid waste” as a means for energy generation and conservation
