No Tech Fix Without Citizen Action, Say Experts at Bengaluru Waste Dialogue

Bengaluru's solid waste crisis can no longer be addressed through technology-led interventions alone, experts said at a high-level public dialogue on urban sustainability, arguing that behavioural change, decentralised solutions, economic realism and citizen responsibility must now take precedence if the city is to avoid a worsening environmental breakdown.

The discussion brought together a senior government official, social entrepreneurs and civil society practitioners to examine why waste management remains one of Bengaluru's most persistent urban challenges despite years of policy reform and infrastructure investment. The panel discussion was organised by the Bangalore Apartments' Federation, convened by the Bengaluru Science and Technology Cluster (BeST), under the initiative of the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser - Science and Technology Cluster.

Bengaluru currently generates more than 6,000 tonnes of municipal solid waste every day, placing sustained pressure on collection systems, processing infrastructure and landfill capacity. While the city has some of the strongest solid waste management by-laws in the country, panelists said gaps between policy intent and on-ground execution continue to undermine outcomes.

Speakers pointed to a shift in the nature of urban pollution. Where industrial discharge once dominated environmental concerns, untreated sewage and poorly managed residential waste have emerged as major contributors to water, land and ecological damage. Rivers and lakes are increasingly polluted not only due to industrial effluents, but also because urban sewage and mixed waste enter water bodies beyond their natural capacity to recover.

Speaking from an operational standpoint, Ramamani V.K., Chief Operating Officer of the Bengaluru Solid Waste Management Limited, said that the scale and complexity of managing waste in a city of Bengaluru's size. "No collection system, however efficient, can succeed if waste is not segregated at source," she said, adding that mixed waste entering processing facilities directly increases landfill dependence and operational costs.

She further explained that when mixed waste reaches composting plants, biomethanation units and waste-to-energy facilities, these systems are unable to function optimally, resulting in a larger proportion of waste being diverted to landfills. Incomplete collection coverage, persistent black spots and inconsistent citizen compliance further compound the challenge, she said.

Providing a long-term scientific perspective, H. N. Chanakya, Chief Research Scientist (Retd.) at the Indian Institute of Science, traced the evolution of waste management in Bengaluru over more than a century. Earlier waste streams were largely organic and easier to manage through composting and decentralised systems; however, changing consumption patterns and the proliferation of plastics and composite materials have made waste management far more complex.

"We often look to technology for answers, but in waste management, correct human behaviour remains the most reliable and affordable solution," Chanakya said, cautioning against overestimating the role of artificial intelligence and automated sorting systems.

G. L. Sivakumar Babu, Professor (Retd.) at the Indian Institute of Science, highlighted the growing environmental and financial costs associated with legacy landfills, including methane emissions, groundwater contamination and land degradation. "These sites are not just an environmental problem but a long-term liability," he said, arguing that reducing the volume of waste reaching landfills through decentralised processing and material recovery is a more sustainable approach than relying on remediation alone.

Drawing attention to the social dimensions of waste management, Shekhar Prabhakar, Chief Executive Officer of Hasiru Dala Innovations, said Bengaluru's relatively high recycling rates are driven primarily by waste pickers and informal-sector workers rather than technology. "India's recycling success is built on people, not machines," he said, warning that waste workers risk being excluded as cities move towards cleaner and more formalised systems unless inclusion is consciously built into new models.

From a community-level implementation perspective, Archana Tripathi, Chief Executive Officer of Sahaja, challenged the assumption that citizens are unwilling to segregate waste. Based on extensive on-ground experience, she said most residents are willing to comply when systems are consistent and transparent. "The problem starts when segregated waste is later mixed during collection," she said, adding that such practices quickly erode trust and motivation.

Citizen accountability and the enforcement gap were highlighted by Savita Hiremath, Trustee of the Solid Waste Management Round Table Bengaluru and Founder of Endlessly Green. While Bengaluru's waste management by-laws are robust on paper, she said inconsistent enforcement and limited political will have weakened their impact. "Waste management cannot be fully outsourced to civic agencies," she said, stressing the need for citizens to take responsibility not only for segregation but also for reducing waste generation.

The event was also attended by senior stakeholders, including BeST Chief Executive Officer R. Anantharaman, Bangalore Apartments' Federation President Satish Mallya, and Srinivasulu, IFS, Principal Secretary to Government (Ecology and Environment), underscoring the breadth of institutional engagement around the issue.

Across the discussion, panelists repeatedly returned to the view that waste management is as much an economic and behavioural challenge as it is a technical one. Simple household practices such as proper segregation of dry waste can significantly improve recyclability and economic value, while decentralised composting and recycling can reduce the burden on municipal systems.

The dialogue concluded with a shared recognition that Bengaluru's waste challenge cannot be resolved by any single institution or intervention. Coordinated action by government agencies, academic institutions, social enterprises, residential communities and individual citizens, sustained over time, is essential to ensure that the city's growth does not come at the cost of its environmental future.