NEW DELHI: Every morning, sanitation workers in the capital begin their rounds with an expectation that households will hand over waste in two streams: wet and dry. By the time the garbage reaches collection vans, that expectation collapses. In Delhi, segregation at source, the most critical step in solid waste management, remains largely aspirational.
Despite years of policy push under the Solid Waste Management Rules and repeated campaigns by civic agencies like the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC), mixed waste continues to dominate the system. Officials admit privately that non-compliance at the household, market and institutional levels is the “weakest link” in Delhi’s waste chain.
Between policy and practice
The rules mandate every waste generator, from homes to bulk generators such as hotels, hospitals and markets, to segregate waste into biodegradable, recyclable and hazardous categories. On paper, penalties exist for violations, but on the ground, enforcement is nearly invisible. It was in 2016 when the Delhi government had implemented the solid waste management rules, as instituted by the Union government then.
Following this, in the upscale colonies under the NDMC, including areas like Khan Market and parts of Lutyens’ Delhi, a pilot segregation drive was launched with door-to-door awareness campaigns and deployment of twin-bin systems. Officials claim “encouraging participation”, but field visits reveal a mixed picture. In Khan Market, one of the capital’s most prominent commercial hubs, several shopkeepers admitted they are aware of segregation norms, but rarely follow them strictly.
In Chandni Chowk, where these two bins were installed with much fanfare, half of the bins remain upside down overflowing with garbage, and the colours of the bins have apparently faded.
“We separate waste in the morning, but the collector mixes it again,” said one of the restaurant managers in Lakshmi Nagar. This sentiment echoes across markets like Lajpat Nagar Central Market, Karol Bagh Market and Chandni Chowk. Vendors cite lack of monitoring and irregular collection practices as reasons for apathy.
Green, blue and a missing link
Although all public spaces such as parks, hospitals and government complexes are equipped with the “green and blue bin” system. But the presence of infrastructure does not guarantee its use.
At several parks maintained by NDMC and MCD, both bins often contain mixed waste—food leftovers, plastic wrappers and even sanitary waste dumped indiscriminately.
In large hospitals, where biomedical waste protocols are stricter, general waste frequently ends up unsegregated. “Bins are there, but no one tells people how to use them,” said a sanitation worker outside a government hospital in central Delhi, adding “We try to separate later, but it’s not always possible.”
Civic agencies have run multiple awareness campaigns, like door-to-door outreach, pamphlets, school drives and social media messaging urging citizens to segregate waste. NDMC officials claim that nearly 70-80% of households in their jurisdiction have been “covered” under awareness initiatives.
Yet, compliance remains inconsistent. Residents cite confusion, lack of habit and absence of accountability. “If the system doesn’t ensure segregated collection, why should we bother?” quetioned Aneeta Bisht, a resident of South Extension.
Meanwhile Sanjay Bhargawa, president of the Chandni Chowk Market Traders’ Association, said, “It’s merely an eyewash. It has been so many years since this policy was launched, and it looked so good to have different coloured dustbins in the market area, but look at them now. We see the colourful dustbins installed in the market, but the garbage is overflowing.”
Environmental activist Bhavreen Kandhari believes that segregation at source is the key to a successful waste management system. She said, “The failure of source segregation in Delhi is one of the biggest missed environmental opportunities of the last decade. In 2016, citizens were asked to separate their waste into green and blue bins. Many households complied, but the system failed because the government and municipal bodies continued to collect and mix the waste in the same trucks.”
Talking about the public behaviour in regard to the segregation of garbage, Saurabh Gandhi, general secretary of United Residents of Delhi, said, “The government may implement it 100 times, but till the time residents are not given strict ‘civic sense’ lessons, it will fail every time. The areas where these two bins were installed in Delhi have been turned into dumping grounds. People will come and drop their poly bags right there instead of putting them inside.”
Pilot projects without progress
NDMC’s pilot projects in select residential pockets aimed to create “model segregation zones” with strict monitoring and incentives for compliance. While officials claim partial success, there is little publicly available data on outcomes.
Residents in pilot areas say the initial push faded over time. “Earlier volunteers used to come; now there’s no follow-up,” said Vibhor, a resident of Sarojini Nagar.
Penalties for non-segregation exist; enforcement is rare. Officials cite practical difficulties in monitoring millions of households and businesses.
The civic body had introduced stricter penalties to ensure proper waste management under the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016. Individual households were to be fined if they would not segregate their household waste into the three mandated categories of non-biodegradable (dry waste) and biodegradable (wet waste)—Rs 200 for violations, while gated communities were to face penalties of up to Rs 10,000 and market associations up to Rs 20,000. Commercial establishments are also subject to significant fines. Marriage halls, banquet halls, party lawns, exhibitions, and fairs with an area below 5,000 square metres were to be fined `10,000.
“The law is strong, but implementation is weak,” admitted a senior civic official. Strict fines exist and are regularly collected by civic agencies. The impact, however, is not fine enough.