India’s waste crisis isn’t caused by lack of bins or awareness. It’s a systems failure spanning waste management, ESG reporting, EPR compliance, and governance. Here’s what we’re missing. Introduction: We’re Solving the Wrong Problem India does not suffer from a garbage problem . We suffer from a systems problem . Every few years, the narrative repeats itself — overflowing landfills, plastic choking rivers, cities drowning in waste. The responses are also familiar: more bins, more trucks, more campaigns, more slogans. Yet the outcome remains unchanged. This is not because Indians don’t care about cleanliness. It’s because waste in India is treated as an operational inconvenience , not a systemic governance issue . Until that changes, no amount of infrastructure or awareness will fix the problem. What We Commonly Call the “Waste Problem” When waste is discussed, the focus usually stays on visible symptoms: Poor segregation at source Inefficient collection Over...
India’s waste crisis isn’t caused by lack of bins or awareness. It’s a systems failure spanning waste management, ESG reporting, EPR compliance, and governance. Here’s what we’re missing. Introduction: We’re Solving the Wrong Problem India does not suffer from a garbage problem . We suffer from a systems problem . Every few years, the narrative repeats itself — overflowing landfills, plastic choking rivers, cities drowning in waste. The responses are also familiar: more bins, more trucks, more campaigns, more slogans. Yet the outcome remains unchanged. This is not because Indians don’t care about cleanliness. It’s because waste in India is treated as an operational inconvenience , not a systemic governance issue . Until that changes, no amount of infrastructure or awareness will fix the problem. What We Commonly Call the “Waste Problem” When waste is discussed, the focus usually stays on visible symptoms: Poor segregation at source Inefficient collection Over...