Government Showcases Waste to Wealth Initiatives Across India
This PIB Backgrounder documents the evolution of Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM), launched in 2014, into a broader movement encompassing cleanliness, waste management, and behavioral change. The mission has expanded through Swachhata Hi Seva (SHS), an annual campaign launched in 2017 that now includes plastic waste management, visual cleanliness, and garbage-free public spaces. The government has integrated the Waste to Wealth approach with circularity, resource efficiency, and sustainable waste management, encouraging cities under Swachh Bharat Mission - Urban 2.0 to strengthen source segregation, waste processing, and value recovery from waste.
Multiple case studies demonstrate practical implementation. In Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, senior citizen K. Subbalakshmi converts kitchen wet waste into compost for her garden. In Chandigarh, resident Kamaljeet Kaur Deol began home composting during COVID-19 and expanded into awareness activities. Siddipet, Telangana has established 'Swachh Badi', a waste management learning center providing hands-on exposure to composting practices, with similar centers planned across 141 municipal areas.
In Borchila village, Assam's Morigaon district, women supported under the Assam State Rural Livelihoods Mission transform invasive water hyacinth (pani meteka) into handicrafts, earning at least ₹10,000 monthly. This initiative addresses the plant's overgrowth that hampers fishing, transportation, and recreation in freshwater bodies.
Patna generates 25-30 metric tonnes of coconut shell waste daily. The Patna Municipal Corporation has established a processing facility in Danapur with initial capacity of 10 tonnes per day, planned to scale to 30 tonnes through multiple shifts. The facility converts wet residues into organic compost, coconut fibres into coir ropes for construction, packaging, mats, and handicrafts, and produces cocopeat for agricultural and horticultural applications.
Cities are repurposing discarded materials in public spaces through Waste to Wonder parks. Chandigarh's Rock Garden uses industrial and household waste, while its dedicated 1.75-acre Waste to Wonder Park features structures from iron sheets, rods, fans, and automobile parts. Delhi's Waste to Wonder Park repurposes industrial waste, scrap metal, and discarded automobile parts from landfills, integrating solar trees and rooftop panels with 50 KW combined capacity that can supply electricity to distribution companies for revenue generation.
These initiatives demonstrate how proper segregation, recovery, and processing can convert discarded materials into useful products, supporting cleaner communities, resource efficiency, and the transition toward a circular economy.