Legacy waste refers to old, accumulated municipal waste lying untreated at dumpsites for years due to inadequate scientific waste management. As of January 2026, India had identified 2,488 dumpsites containing nearly 25 crore MT of legacy waste; 1,138 dumpsites had been completely remediated and 62% of the waste had been processed.

SBM-U 2.0 – Swachh Bharat Mission ( Urban 2.0): Addressing Legacy Waste

To address the growing environmental and public-health concerns associated with accumulated waste, the Government launched SBM-U 2.0 in 2021 with a broader focus on creating “Garbage-Free Cities”.

• Garbage-Free Cities: Launched in 2021, SBM-U 2.0 seeks to move beyond sanitation towards scientific solid-waste management, including remediation of legacy dumpsites.
  Ex: The Mission envisages cities achieving at least 3-star Garbage-Free certification.
• Scientific processing: The Mission emphasises source segregation, material recovery and processing infrastructure to prevent the creation of new dumpsites.
  Ex: SBM-U 2.0 promotes Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs) and waste-processing facilities.

Key issues & Health Hazards  to Legacy Waste Management 

• Technical and institutional gaps: Limited technical capacity, specialised equipment, inter-agency coordination and delays in tendering/land allocation slow remediation.
  Ex: ULBs may lack adequate biomining machinery and technical expertise to process large dumpsites.
• High financial and operational burden: Remediation requires substantial expenditure on excavation, transportation, segregation, processing and safe disposal.
  Ex: SBM-U 2.0 provides financial support for legacy-waste remediation, particularly for high-impact dumpsites.
• Environmental and health risks: Legacy dumpsites generate leachate, methane and air pollutants, contaminating groundwater while increasing disease and fire risks.
  Ex: Open burning of mixed waste can release particulate matter and toxic pollutants, while methane accumulation can trigger dumpsite fires.

• Disease and fire risks: Dumpsites provide breeding grounds for disease vectors and can experience fires due to methane generation and combustible waste.
  Ex: Unmanaged dumpsites can attract rodents, flies and other disease vectors, while methane accumulation increases fire risks.

Government initiatives and way forward

• Dumpsite Remediation Accelerator Programme (DRAP): Launched in November 2025 to accelerate remediation of high-impact legacy dumpsites under the Zero Dumpsites objective.
  Ex: 214 high-impact dumpsites containing nearly 80% of India’s remaining legacy waste have been prioritised.
• Biomining and bioremediation: Scientific treatment involves excavation, stabilisation, screening and recovery of useful fractions from old waste.
  Ex: Inert and C&D waste can be utilised in road construction, while combustible fractions can be processed into RDF.
• Material Recovery Facilities: MRFs facilitate segregation and recovery of recyclable materials, reducing dependence on landfills.
  Ex: India currently has around 2,900 operational MRFs with a combined capacity of 67,000 TPD.
• Solid Waste Management Rules, 2026: The new Rules mandate mapping and assessment of legacy dumpsites and time-bound biomining/bioremediation, with quarterly progress reporting.
  Ex: Landfilling is restricted primarily to non-recyclable, non-energy-recoverable and inert waste.
• Land reclamation: Remediation converts contaminated and underutilised dumpsite land into productive urban or ecological spaces.
  Ex: At Bhalswa, Delhi, 4.795 lakh MT of legacy waste was remediated between September and November 2025, with part of the reclaimed area being developed for bamboo plantation.

Legacy-waste remediation is essential not merely for cleaning existing dumpsites but for transforming India’s urban waste-management model from open dumping to scientific processing and resource recovery. Accelerating remediation while simultaneously preventing the creation of new dumpsites is crucial for achieving Zero Dumpsites and sustainable Garbage-Free Cities.