Decentralised Urban Waste Management: A Case Study of Solid Waste Management in Two Indian Cities - Thiruvananthapuram and Bengaluru

India generates 62 million tons of waste every year, of which 60% gets collected and only 15% processed. With the huge spike in urban population and shrinking spaces, it is imperative for an efficient waste management system. Unscientific waste disposal augments the emission of Greenhouse Gases like methane (6% in India). Waste to Energy plant is not viable in India due to the high concentration of organic content and inadequate segregation. Under such a situation, a Centralised treatment facility will not only culminate in irrevocable environmental and health hazards but further aggravate prevailing socio-political injustice in the country. The best possible alternative to this systemic hurdle is Decentralised Waste Management. This paper looks at two urban cities, Thiruvananthapuram and Bengaluru, where the former follows a decentralised waste management system and the latter centralised. The Waste Management system in Thiruvananthapuram city champions concepts of circular economy adopted by developed countries, which contest the unsustainable linear model. The city’s strategies adopted under Decentralised Waste Management are a catalyst towards achieving ‘no burn city’, an initiative against incineration and greenhouse gas emissions. The case studies of Bengaluru and Thiruvananthapuram city highlight the impact of systemic changes through progressive interventions towards the eradication of structural disparities. It analyses different aspects, the labour, the public, the governance and the environment in the context of waste management. The paper delves further into the question of welfare and beneficiary from state’s point of view. Through the system of Decentralised Waste Management, the paper advocates the importance of devolution of power and dissolution of responsibilities for a sustainable environment and an empowered and equitable society.