Ramalingam Karunanidhi, Researcher

Every morning, cities wake up with the burden of unsegregated waste and the dumpsites that are running out of space. Not only in India, but across the world, solid waste management continues to pose systemic challenges for urban governance, particularly in rapidly growing cities. Overproduction, poor collection systems, source segregation, burning waste, and overflowing dumpsites affect both the environment and public health.

India is undergoing a major phase of construction-led development that is rapidly reshaping its urban and semi-urban landscapes. Metro rail networks, national highways, commercial office spaces, housing complexes, and smart city infrastructures are rising at a pace unmatched in the past. While this transformation reflects economic growth and modernisation, it has also resulted in an escalating environmental concern: construction and demolition (C&D) waste.

At first light, a wetland begins to stir. Mist rises from its still waters, frogs croak in the reeds, herons take flight, and insects hum in the undergrowth. Beneath this quiet surface lies a complex web of roots, microbes, nutrients, and water flows, a living system that regulates water, nurtures biodiversity, and stabilises the climate.

In ancient Tamil thought, land was not just a setting for human life but a living companion. Sangam literature used the idea of Thinai to describe an ecological and cultural landscape where people, land, climate, emotions, and livelihoods were seen as one connected system. The five Thinais, Kurinji (mountains), Mullai (pastoral forests), Marutham (farmland), Neithal (coastal life), and Palai (arid land), were not just terrains but ways of living in balance with nature.

Every morning, as we open our doors, we see the legacy of our consumption. Plastic bags flutter across streets, garbage bins overflow, and the smell of decaying organic waste lingers in the air. These visible signs of waste are only part of the story. The more invisible scars of dump yards, open dumps, and harmful emissions remind us that waste is everywhere. Yet, what if we could treat waste not as the final stop but as part of a cycle, a resource to be prevented, reused, and transformed? This is the vision of zero waste.

As the sun rises over India’s 649,000 villages, life awakens in a familiar rhythm, milk cans clank on bicycles, children trek to school past grazing cattle, and the earthy scent of the land fills the air. Yet alongside this pastoral serenity lies a festering problem: waste.

Imagine a land where rivers shimmer with life, not plastic waste. A future where beaches are strewn with seashells, not discarded bottles. This vision isn’t unattainable; it's a glimpse of what India could achieve if it tackles its plastic pollution.

What if you enter a completely empty kitchen one day, with no food in sight and the refrigerator bare? Curious and concerned, you turn on the television to hear alarming news: bees and other pollinators have vanished, and there is a global food crisis. This may sound extreme, but it is a possible reality with the rising temperature, pollution, climate change, habitat depletion, diseases, genetically modified crops and pesticide abuse. 

Imagine a world where your job doesn’t just earn you a pay cheque, but also helps clean the air, reduce waste, and fight climate change. As India commits to achieving net-zero emissions by 2070 and scaling up renewable energy, green jobs are emerging as a cornerstone of both economic recovery and environmental responsibility.

But for this transition to succeed, India must overcome deep-rooted challenges, ranging from climate literacy gaps to policy fragmentation, skill mismatches, and implementation issues in government schemes.

What if waste wasn’t a problem, but an opportunity? Can you imagine a town where waste doesn’t pile up? Nestled in the quiet mountains of Shikaou Island, Japan’s town of Kamikatsu with a community of 1500 residents,  has achieved the seemingly impossible: a zero-waste lifestyle, inspiring the world to rethink sustainability. The town has proven that even small communities can make a big impact when it comes to zero-waste.