Garbage or gold? Punjab’s opportunity in its own waste

Punjab has always known how to feed the nation. Its fields pulse with wheat and rice, its canals carry lifelines and its farmers push boundaries of productivity. Yet the state finds itself caught in an uncomfortable paradox: while it nourishes millions, it is choking on its own waste. Garbage here doesn’t vanish, it merely relocates, often to the edges of towns, the banks of drains or the fields that once symbolised abundance. For students preparing for Punjab’s state examinations, the story of the state’s waste crisis is not merely academic, it is a real, evolving public challenge that demands understanding, urgency and imagination.

A crisis that has been piling up for decades

Punjab generates more than 3,000 tonnes of waste every day and nearly a third of it remains untreated. The consequences are impossible to ignore. Across its 210 legacy dumps, many piled high like miniature hills, more than two-thirds remain un-remediated, silent reminders of decades of mismanagement. In rural Punjab, the situation is even starker. Barely 27% of villages have functioning solid waste services, while untreated sewage exceeds treatment capacity by over 700 million litres daily.

Repeated reprimands and fines, over Rs 3,000 crore, from the National Green Tribunal underline just how far behind the state has fallen. But the deeper truth lies in chronic underinvestment: one budget allocated barely Rs 6.7 crore for waste management, an amount symbolic at best.

Where the system falls apart

Infrastructure is the weakest link. Several small and medium towns lack composting units, biomethanation plants or even basic waste sorting centres. Where facilities exist, they often run at half capacity because the waste that arrives is mixed and contaminated. Rules mandating segregation remain paper tigers —bins are missing, pickups are irregular and citizens lose trust in a system that doesn’t follow through.

Enforcement, too, has been inconsistent. Without segregation at source, processing plants can never succeed; without processing, dumps will only grow. This cycle has trapped Punjab for years.

The hidden costs: A burden on health, soil and society

The impacts are not just environmental. They are deeply human. Rural health surveys show that in villages lacking sanitation services, nearly 25% of residents routinely suffer from ailments like diarrhoea, respiratory infections and fevers linked to unhygienic surroundings. Burning waste adds toxic dioxins to already polluted air and leachate from dumps contaminates groundwater that villagers and farmers depend on.

Agriculture, Punjab’s prized economic backbone, is also taking a hit. When mixed waste contaminates compost, it introduces plastics and toxins into the soil, weakening fertility and undoing decades of agricultural gains. Waste has become a silent tax — on health, on budgets and on the environment.

Signs of hope: What’s working in Punjab

Despite the grim picture, success stories offer a path forward. Mohali’s 15 MGD sewage treatment plant, built at a cost of Rs 146 crore, shows that with political will, major infrastructure is possible. Amritsar has taken meaningful steps by biomining legacy dumps and planning a waste-to-energy plant, though it must ensure recyclables are not burned.

In rural pockets, community-led initiatives shine even brighter. Villages like Keshopur in Gurdaspur and Khusropur in Kapurthala have demonstrated that disciplined segregation, door-to-door collection and composting can transform public spaces. Clean lanes, reduced disease and free compost for fields have turned scepticism into ownership. Their example reinforces a crucial point: not all solutions require big budgets, many require consistent participation.

Punjab’s pilot Plastic Waste Management Society, aimed at enforcing Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), is another promising step. If scaled well, it could force industries to take responsibility for the plastic they produce.

Learning from India’s best

Punjab need not reinvent the wheel. Other Indian cities offer proven models:

Indore: India’s cleanest city for six consecutive years, built on strict segregation, daily cleanliness scoring and uncompromising enforcement.

Ambikapur (Chhattisgarh): Women’s self-help groups run decentralised waste recovery centres that generate income and dignity.

Alappuzha (Kerala): Eliminated landfills by focusing on household-level and ward-level composting.

These models share common principles: enforce segregation, decentralise processing, build citizen trust and maintain transparency.

Waste as a resource, not a burden

Handled right, Punjab’s waste could power a new sustainability revolution. Organic waste can be composted into nutrient-rich inputs that reduce chemical fertiliser use. Food scraps from langars, canteens and mandis can be converted into biogas and bio-fertiliser. Clean recyclables already have strong demand in Punjab’s industrial network.

A municipality’s cost-benefit study showed that every rupee spent on segregation and composting saves nearly three rupees in health costs, drain cleaning, and land restoration. Waste management is not charity—it is investment backed by data.

The roadmap: What Punjab must do now

Short-term (0–18 months)

• Provide every household with a two-bin system
• Enforce segregation through trained municipal staff
• Begin phased biomining of legacy dumps
• Mandate bulk generators — hotels, markets, institutions — to manage waste on-site
• Introduce a grievance app and statewide helpline
• Track waste collection vehicles through GPS to ensure coverage

Medium-term (2–3 years)

• Close the sewage treatment gap with modular STPs in small towns
• Establish decentralised composting and biogas units at ward or cluster levels
• Enforce a complete ban on open dumping and burning
• Implement EPR fully and transparently
• Improve dignity of workers through contracts, insurance, safety gear, and mechanisation.

Long-term (five-year benchmark)

• 100% door-to-door collection
• 90% segregation at source
• Universal sewage treatment
• Elimination of open dumping and burning

These targets are not aspirational. They are achievable and other Indian regions have already proved it.

Changing mindsets: The final frontier

Investment and enforcement matter, but culture will determine the outcome. Punjab has long held the habit of removing dirt from inside only to throw it just outside. Waste must stop being someone else’s problem.

Schools can run composting drives. Gurdwaras can adopt zero-waste langars as seva. Municipalities can use competitions and public dashboards to make cleanliness a source of pride. Visibility creates accountability, when citizens see results, compliance follows naturally.

Conclusion: Punjab’s choice will shape its future

Punjab today stands at a crossroads. Waste can either remain a crisis that stains fields, burdens budgets and harms public health or become an opportunity to build cleaner towns, healthier villages and more resilient farmlands.

The formula is simple: segregate at source, collect consistently, process locally, enforce honestly and remain transparent. As environmentalist Sunita Narain reminds us: waste is not garbage, but a misplaced resource.

Punjab now has a chance to place that resource where it belongs and reshape its future with cleaner air, safer water and streets worthy of the state’s proud legacy.

The writer is Professor, School of Management Studies Punjabi University Patiala