Promoting Behaviour Change for Strengthening Waste Segregationat Source- Policy Guidelines

Choose Report Type

Publication Date

Sun, 11/28/2021 - 01:11

Report Upload

Download (5.97 MB)

vertical

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

PDF Text

Designed by
POLICY NOTE BEHAVIOUR CHANGE FOR STRENGTHENING WASTE SEGREGATION AT SOURCE AT INSTITUTIONAL AND HOUSEHOLD LEVELS
Designd biysid
Promoting Behaviour Change 
for Strengthening 
Waste Segregation
at Source

Policy Guidelines 
Promoting Behaviour Change
for Strengthening
Waste Segregation
at Source
November 2021

List of Abbreviations vii
Prologue ix
1. Chapter 1: Why We Must Think About Waste Segregation at Source ................................ 2
2. Chapter 2: Advantages Offered by Waste Segregation at Source...................................... 6
3. Chapter 3: Existing Policy Mandates in India......................................................................... 10
4. Chapter 4: Using Behavioural Insights .................................................................................... 14
5. Chapter 5: Learnings and Insights from Behavioural Field Studies ...................................18
5.1 W 18
5.2 Pilot Program of Waste Segregation in China 18
5.3 Choic 19
5.4 L
littering 19
5.5 De 20
6. Chapter 6: Challenges and Barriers.......................................................................................... 22
6.1 W 22
6.2 G 23
6.3 Unintuitive product, packaging, and dustbin design 24
6.4 Fr 24
6.5 G 25
6.6 Socio-Cultural Characteristics Relevant to the Domain of Waste Segregation 25
6.6. Waste Segregation in Indian Households: Whose Responsibility? 25
6.6.2 Domestic Workers in Households and Employed Manual Labour in
Commercial Establishments 26
6.7 Other Socio-Cultural Considerations 26
Contents
Contents v

7. Chapter 7: Policy Recommendations.......................................................................................30
7.1 S 30
7.2 S
management of segregated waste 31
7.3 Pr 32
7.4 S 32
7.5 Use of fiscal incentives and disincentives to encourage source segregation: 33
7.6 S 34
References............................................................................................................................................. 35
ContentsPolicy Guidelines Promoting Behaviour Change for Strengthening Waste Segregation at Source vi

List of
Abbreviations
ULB Urban Local Bodies
MSW Municipal Solid Waste
MoHUA Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs
PCB Pollution Control Board
C&D Construction & Demolition
CPCB Central Pollution Control Board
SPCB State Pollution Control Board
CPHEEO Central Public Health and Environmental Engineering Organisation
CERC Central Electricity Regulatory Commission
RDF Refuse Derived Fuel
MSWM Municipal Solid Waste Management
GRIHA Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment
IGBC Indian Green Building Council
LEED Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
SBM Swachh Bharat Mission
NREP National Resource Efficiency Policy
UNEP United Nation Environment Programme
IEC Information, Education and Communication
MW Mega Watt
TPA Tonnes Per Annum
SUP Single Use Plastic
SLB Service Level Benchmarks
DPR Detailed Project Report
MT Metric Tonnes
NSO National Statistical Office
EPR Extended Producer Responsibility
BIS Bureau of Indian Standards
MRF Material Recovery Facilities
List of Abbreviations vii

Prologue
The policy guidelines have been
developed to support behavioural change
in individuals, households and institutions
to strengthen waste segregation at
source (WSS). The objective is to
facilitate, strengthen, widen and deepen,
the adoption of WSS practices among
different stakeholders for a sustainable
and lasting impact. The recommendations
are anchored in a holistic perspective
on human behaviour that contextualize
WSS as being a behavioural practice and
act that is enmeshed with the psycho-
structural features of the environment.
The recommendations have relevance
for policies in the broad areas of waste
management, circularity, sanitation,
urban planning, and product (including
food) packaging, amongst others.
There is ample evidence from operations
of recycling, composting and waste-to-
energy projects that their viability critically
hinges on availability of segregated waste.
Waste can alternatively be segregated
at the point of generation (source
segregation), or at the point of treatment
(secondary segregation). The former
offers distinct advantages over the latter.
However, source segregation requires
sustained sensitisation and participation
of individuals and institutions generating
the waste. This entails behavioural change
interventions that transcend socio-
economic strata and literacy levels.
The recommendations in this note are
based on the study and analysis of the
extant regulatory landscape, national
and international best practices, and
are underpinned by mapping waste
segregation behaviour in Indian socio-
cultural context.
PROMOTING BEHAVIOUR CHANGE FOR STRENGTHENING WASTE
SEGREGATION AT SOURCE
Prologue ix

PROMOTING BEHAVIOUR
CHANGE FOR
STRENGTHENING WASTE
SEGREGATION AT SOURCE
Chapter 1

India generates about 49.8 million tonnes
of solid waste annually
[1]
. World over
annual waste generation estimates are
pegged at almost 2 billion tonnes, and are
expected to grow to 3.4 billion tonnes,
an increase of 70% by 2050. Countries
like India that fall in the world’s fastest
growing regions of South-Asia and Sub-
Saharan Africa, are projected to witness
a much higher, three-fold rise in waste
generation by 2050
[2]
.
Studies suggest that despite waste
management increasingly occupying a
position of priority, globally about one-
third waste is still not being managed in an
environmentally sound manner. Countries
like India face the additional challenge
of legacy waste, i.e. waste that has been
left unattended and untreated in dumps
for years. Municipal waste management
is expensive and can comprise the single
largest budget head of Urban Local
Bodies (ULBs). Most Indian cities are
struggling with inadequate finances and
infrastructure to effectively collect, treat
and dispose-off waste. It is estimated
that while 70-95% waste is collected in
the major metropolitan cities, collection
can be as low as 50% in small cities
[3]
.
The indiscriminate dumping of solid
waste in landfills has dire consequences
not only for residential dwellings but also
for the civilization as a whole because
of its contribution to global warming.
Biodegradable waste in landfills releases
methane, which has a 34 times higher
global warming potential over 100 years
as compared to carbon dioxide
[4]
.
In this backdrop, a pivotal shift in
approach is needed that reflects the fast
catching global trend of looking at waste
as a resource. Recycling, composting and
waste-to-energy are increasingly being
adopted as alternative waste management
strategies. Advantages include reduced
pollution and improved environmental
performance, beneficial health and social
impacts, and enhanced employment and
economic opportunities. Lesser waste
reaching landfills can result in extended
landfill life spans, reduced pollution and
green-house gas emissions from landfills/
waste dumps, and reduced landfill fires.
Waste handlers (formal and informal)
stand to benefit as the approach focuses
attention on reducing occupational
risks and enabling mainstreaming of the
informal sector. Recycled materials are
often cheaper raw materials compared to
virgin materials, and offer advantages of
natural resource efficiencies.
However, material recovery from waste
necessitates separation of different
Promoting Behaviour
Change for Strengthening
Waste Segregation at
Source
Promoting Behaviour Change for Strengthening Waste Segregation at Source2

waste streams. Historically this has been
approached in two significantly different
ways: (1) Source/Primary Segregation-
separation at source by individuals,
households, and institutions, and separate
collection systems; and (2) Secondary
Segregation- recovery by mechanical
processing and sorting of mixed waste at
central facilities receiving large quantities
of waste. The first approach of primary
segregation or waste segregation at
source, has distinct advantages, which
are elaborated in the next section.
Secondary segregation of waste has
inherent limitation. In Europe, secondary
segregation to recover valuable resources
from mixed municipal waste has resulted
in generation of output with product
quality unsuitable for existing recycling
applications
[5]
. It has also resulted in
contamination of wet waste, and resultant
compost, with hazardous heavy metals,
leading to contamination of soil and
environment. The first approach of source
segregation and separate collection,
which is now the basis of the European
waste legislation, requires deeper and
wider adoption in India as well.
Promoting Behaviour Change for Strengthening Waste Segregation at SourcePolicy Guidelines Promoting Behaviour Change for Strengthening Waste Segregation at Source 3

ADVANTAGES OFFERED
BY WASTE SEGREGATION
AT SOURCE
Chapter 2

Waste Segregation at Source offer far-
reaching benefits- optimal utilization
of municipal machinery and workforce,
efficient infrastructure operations, and
enhanced environmental outcomes.
Sour
for secondary segregation, which is capital, energy and land intensive.
W
likely to be contaminated with other waste types, and therefore more
likely to be recycled. As it is also
more likely to be clean, the cost of
pre-treatment before recycling or
re-purposed is also reduced. For the
above reasons, waste segregated at
source is more attractive to recyclers.
T
for different waste types depends on
the nature of waste. More often than
not, the processes are cumbersome
and expensive. Waste segregation
contributes towards reducing the
quantum of waste to be treated or
recycled, thereby reducing cost.
W
transportation to the treatment facility, which has both cost and
carbon footprint. Where waste has
been segregated at source, the
volume of different waste types
reduces, leading to a concomitant
reduction in transportation footprint.
It also supports dec entralized
treatment options like community
composting units and dry waste
collection centres that are more
efficient in waste management.
Current estimates suggest that
in countries like India, wet waste
comprises more than half of municipal
solid waste. Hence the burden of
transportation and landfill loading
with waste from residential areas
doing on-site composting, reduces
by the same proportion.
Sour
results in waste minimization, or lesser waste reaching landfills. This
directly translates into longer life
spans of landfills, and reduced
demand for land for new landfills.
This is a significant benefit, especially
in areas that have history of land
conflicts and NIMBY attitudes.
W
primary and secondary segregation
also translates into reduced green-
house-gas emissions from waste
dumps and landfills.
Advantages Offered
by Waste Segregation
at Source
Advantages Offered by Waste Segregation at Source6

Sour
attractiveness of the existing
in-human, unhealthy and hazardous
practice of rag pickers rummaging
through waste piles to salvage
saleable waste items.
Advantages Offered by Waste Segregation at SourcePolicy Guidelines Promoting Behaviour Change for Strengthening Waste Segregation at Source 7

EXISTING POLICY
MANDATES IN INDIA
Chapter 3

A number of market transforming policies
& initiatives have been formulated and
notified by the government. Some of the
significant policy initiatives are described
below.
T
Rules
[6]
, and guidelines by CPCB,
CPHEEO, and other related agencies,
prescribe utilization of waste
materials in some select sectors.
The MSW Rules mandate that
concerned agencies (urban local
bodies, MoHUA, SPCBs, Ministry
of Fertilisers, Agriculture) support
waste segregation by collection,
setting up of MRFs, waste to energy
and waste to composting plants.
The Plastic Waste Management
Rules 2016 suggest utilization of
plastic waste in road construction.
Construction and Demolition Waste
Management Rules 2016 require local
authorities to incentivize re-utilisation
of C&D Waste. CPCB has also issued
guidelines for utilization of hazardous
waste in cement co-processing, steel
and power units. Biomedical Waste
Management Rules require recycling
of plastic and metal content of waste
after appropriate disinfection.
Section 2.1 of the Municipal Solid
Waste Management Manual, 2016
by CPHEEO, Ministry of Urban
Development, prescribes a step-
wise waste minimisation approach
that is closely linked to the 3Rs
(Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle). The
Manual mentions the need for policy
interventions at the national, state
and local levels, and envisages a
pivotal role for ULBs for effective
management.
In
composting, Ministry of Chemicals
& Fertilizers has notified the policy
on promotion of City Compost
providing Market Development
Assistance of Rs. 1,500 per tonne
to fertilizer companies, ULBs, and
compost manufacturers. Ministry of
Power has revised the Tariff Policy
2006 under the Indian Electricity Act,
2003, making it mandatory for State
DISCOMS to purchase power from
Waste-to-Energy plants. In addition,
Central Electricity Regulatory
Commission (CERC) has notified
generic tariff for Waste-to-Energy at
Rs. 7.04 per unit and for RDF (Refuse
Derived Fuel) at Rs. 7.90 per unit.
Existing Policy
Mandates in India
Existing Policy Mandates in India10

F
of waste in roads and construction
activities, the Ministry of Road
Transport and Highways has notified
use of plastic waste in bituminous
mixes in construction of National
highways.
T
mandated use of recycled portions of
C&D Waste in construction activities,
if the same is available within 100
kms of the construction site.
T
was launched in October 2014. It envisages strengthening solid
waste management capacity of
Urban Local Bodies (ULBs). Several
implementation guidelines have
been developed and disseminated.
Notably, solid waste managemen
has been accorded the highest
priority in Swachh Sarvekshan, with
the largest weightage of 55%. The
Mission provides funding support
to ULBs based on approved DPRs.
Funding includes a mix of Central,
State and other funds, with Centre’s
contribution to the tune of 35%. ULBs
are required to prepare Detailed
Project Reports in order to apply for
funding.
T
provide for re-utilisation of C&D waste. MoHUA has issued a notification
to local authorities to incentivize
and provide 1% to 5% extra ground
coverage and FAR for projects of
more than 3000 sqm plot size on
basis of GRIHA evaluation. Similarly,
MoEFCC has provided for out of turn
appraisal for environmental clearance
of building and construction projects
on the basis of GRIHA/IGBC/LEED
evaluation.
In
undertaking GRIHA rating are eligible for 25% subsidy on the
cost of establishing environmental
infrastructure. Similarly, other states
like Haryana, Andhra Pradesh,
Maharashtra, Gujarat, Punjab,
West Bengal and Jharkhand have
announced incentives for projects
adopting GRIHA ratings.
[7]
T
revised to include use of aggregates from C&D waste in different types of
concrete (plain, lean and reinforced).
MS
by CPHEEO, Ministry of Urban Development, stipulates that data on waste generation, weight and volume
should be collected by each authority
in its respective area of operation. Data
on municipal solid waste is collected
by ULBs. It is compiled at the state
level, and further aggregated at the
national level by SBM Urban. Data on
special waste categories is compiled
by SPCBs and aggregated by CPCB.
Updated data on various process
and outcome indicators can be seen
on the SBM Urban dashboard
[8]
. In
addition, 8 indicators for SWM have
been identified in the Handbook for
Service Level Benchmarks by MoHUA.
!Household level coverage of SWM services
!Efficiency of collection of municipal solid waste
!Extent of segregation of municipal solid waste
!Extent of municipal solid waste recovered
!Extent of scientific disposal of municipal solid waste
Existing Policy Mandates in IndiaPolicy Guidelines Promoting Behaviour Change for Strengthening Waste Segregation at Source 11

!Extent of cost recovery in SWM
services
!Efficiency in redressal of customer complaints
!Efficiency in collection of SWM- related user charges
T
Efficiency Policy (NREP), 2019 is guided by the principles of reduction
in primary resource consumption
to ‘sustainable’ levels, Sustainable
Development Goals, and staying within
the planetary boundaries. It uses the
approaches of Circular Economy
(CE) and resource efficiency (RE)
for creation of higher value with less
material, waste minimization, material
security, and creation of employment
opportunities and business models
beneficial to the cause of environment
protection and restoration.
T
National Non-Ferrous Metal Scrap
Recycling Framework, 2020 to
promote life cycle management
approach for better efficiency in
the mineral value chain process. It
aims to promote a formal and well-
organized recycling ecosystem by
adopting energy efficient processes.
The framework envisages setting up
of a Central Metal Recycling Authority
to facilitate recycling of metals.
It aims to establish a mechanism
for registration of segregators,
dismantlers, recyclers, collection
centers etc. to bring recycling within
the ambit of organized sector.
T
Highways has come out with National Auto Scrappage Policy in March
2021. It aims to achieve multiple
goals like reduction in air pollution,
the fulfilment of India’s climate
commitments, improving road and
vehicle safety, better fuel efficiency,
and boosting the availability of low-
cost raw materials for auto, steel and
electronics industry. The government
expects recycling of metals like steel,
copper and aluminium from the
scrapped vehicles to help reduce
their imports.
T
Climate Change unveiled the Plastic
Waste Management (Amendment)
Rules, 2021 that propose to ban
select categories of single-use plastic
items. The proposed prohibition on
their manufacture, use, sale, import,
and handling is in keeping with the
objective of phasing out single-use
plastic by 2022. It is proposed to be
implemented in three stages starting
2021 and culminating in mid-2022.
Further, a guideline document for
“Uniform Framework For Extended
Producers Responsibility (Under
Plastic Waste Management Rules,
2016)” was also formulated by the
ministry.
Existing Policy Mandates in IndiaPolicy Guidelines Promoting Behaviour Change for Strengthening Waste Segregation at Source 12

USING BEHAVIOURAL
INSIGHTS
Chapter 4

In the last decade or so, behavioural
economics has provided rich theoretical
insights into human behaviour particularly
those involving judgment and decision-
making. In this stream of literature, nudges
“an intervention, from either private or
public institutions, that affects people’s
behaviour while fully maintaining their
freedom of choice”
[9]
(p.4) is particularly
relevant to waste segregation. A nudge
instrument attempts to influence behavior
in the desired direction without altering
the available options or the economic
pay-offs. The structured environment
designed to elicit the desired behaviour
is called the choice architecture, which
influences judgment and decision-making
in a subtle and automatic manner. For
example, provision of organ donation
as the default option in the driving and
motor vehicles form shows a significant
increase in organ donation, just as small-
sized plates in buffets has been found to
result in less food wastage.
The benefits of including nudges
for behaviour change are that they
automatically guide behavior, with
possibilities of spill-over. People that have
acted in environmentally friendly ways
triggered by behavioral interventions,
are more likely to perform other pro-
environmental behaviors. Nudges are
cost-effective because that they do not
require constant surveillance resources,
fines or levies. Also, nudges tend to
operate within the action domain eliciting
desired actions and behaviours and not
merely positive attitudes or intentions.
Nudges in the domain of environment-
friendly practices have been called
‘green nudges’. Policy makers around
the world are utilizing the green nudges
insights for sustainable practices. The
UN Environment Programme (UNEP)
in an effort to mobilize the Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs) and to protect
the global environment, came up with
‘Green Nudges’ strategies for university
campuses with the support from their
Behavioural Insights Team.
[10]
For example,
University College Cork, Ireland, reduced
the use of disposable cups and facilitated
the use of reusable cups by installing cup
washers on campus.
As outlined in handbooks utilizing nudge
strategies, the effectiveness of nudges
lies in the following approach: 1) Choosing
the target behaviour, 2) Understanding
the context, 3) Designing the nudge, 4)
Testing the effectiveness of the nudge, 5)
Reflecting and redesigning.
A related line of literature on effective
and successful influencing or crafting
Using Behavioural Insights14
Using Behavioural
Insights

persuasive messages has identified six
principles of influence that operate as
heuristics or shortcuts
[11].
Two of these are
particularly important to the domain of
WSS:
1. Authority:  Individuals are persuaded
by messages that are endorsed
by trusted authority figures. For
example, when people are shown the
opinion of a distinguished economist
on an economic problem, participants
followed that opinion, even without
evaluating other relevant evidence
[12]
.
2. Social Proof:  People are influenced
by similar others in taking a course of
action. For example, British tax officials
were able to get much more in tax
revenues by including a message on
tax recovery letters stating that most
people do pay their taxes on time
[13]
.
Home energy report on average
reduces 2% energy consumption by
providing households with information
on their past energy consumption and
those of their neighbors
[14]
.
We draw upon the nudges-oriented
literature to suggest interventions such as
intuitive Product, Packaging and Dustbin
Design, and upon persuasion techniques
to suggest text-based nudges in
recommending effective IEC messaging.
While these are detailed in the concluding
section on Policy Recommendations, we
also wish to highlight how the behavioural
insights have been used in different pro-
environmental initiatives across the world.
These serve as exemplars of best practices
that can inform policy recommendations.
14
Using Behavioural InsightsPolicy Guidelines Promoting Behaviour Change for Strengthening Waste Segregation at Source 15

LEARNINGS AND INSIGHTS
FROM BEHAVIOURAL
FIELD STUDIES
Chapter 5

Interventions drawing upon behavioural
insights have been empirically investigated
for their impact and effectiveness. A lot
of research evidence has accumulated
that ascertains the efficacy of such
interventions. A few representative
examples are provided below:
5.1 W
Social Norms and Information
Diffusion in Colombia
[15]
The Environment for Development
(EfD) initiative reported a randomized
field experiment that took place in the
town of Jericó, a small town situated in
the southwestern region of Antioquia
in Colombia. Water was subsidized for
households. However, both the local water
utility EPJ (Empresas Públicas de Jericó)
and the municipality of Jericówere were
concerned about encouraging households
to save water.
The researchers designed an information
diffusion campaign in which they
provided feedback to household not
only for their water consumption, but
also provided information on how the
household compared with neighbours.
Results indicate that social information
and appeals to norm-based behaviour
reduced water use by up to 6.8 percent
in households directly targeted by the
campaign. This experiment indicates
that such information campaigns provide
normative guidelines, thereby creating
implicit peer pressure to engage in socially
desirable behaviours.
5.2 Pilot Program of Waste
Segregation in China
[16]
The Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural
Development of China launched a waste
segregation program in June 2000 in eight
pilot cities (Beijing, Nanjing, Shanghai,
Hangzhou, Xiamen, Guilin, Guangzhou
and Shenzhen). In this programme,
people could sort their waste at home
voluntarily and then send the sorted waste
to separate containers in the community.
Before the pilot program, waste separation
was not practiced in households. In 2015
the Notice on the Announcement of the
First Batch of Waste Source Separation
Demonstration Cities (Districts) was
enacted, which extended the 8 pilot cities
to 26 cities (districts) as waste separation
at source was a successful initiative.
Researchers studying this trend, using a
unique nationally representative sample
of households, estimated the impacts of
nudge interventions on the participation
in household waste source separation.
Learnings and Insights
from Behavioural
Field Studies
Learnings and Insights from Behavioural Field Studies18

Researchers obtained 11,193 households
in 28 provinces, municipalities, and
autonomous regions in China. The
researchers asked the respondents: “In
the last 12 months, how often did your
household engage in waste sorting?” The
possible three responses were: (i) never, (ii)
sometimes, and (iii) regularly, with higher
scores indicating a higher frequency of
participation in waste sorting activities.
Results showed that people in cities that
launched waste sorting scheme exhibited
a 0.243 points increase in the frequency
of waste sorting. The effect continued
to persist even thirteen years after the
program was introduced. The research
highlighted two key variables that
explained this effect- social interaction
and waste-related knowledge.
5.3 Choic
Garbage Bins during Kumbh
2019
[17]
In keeping with the goal of Swachh
Kumbh in 2019, the Prayagraj Mela
Authority deployed 20,000 dustbins along
roadsides, inside camps, and in vending
areas. The dustbin deployment pattern
was a deliberate choice architecture
ensuring visible, easy to access, regular
and predictable availability of dustbins. In
addition, the waste management services
was operated around the clock ensuring
that there were no overflowing dustbins
and general cleanliness was maintained. A
well operating system was instrumental
in garnering responsible waste disposal
behaviour by pilgrims at the event.
Cooperation was witnessed across socio-
cultural backgrounds. Littering was
observed to be considerably reduced as
compared to similar events in the past as
well as littering in urban areas.
5.4 L
salience and commitment devices
to decrease littering
[18]
In 2010, eight municipalities in the
Netherlands participated in a project aimed
at reducing littering in the immediate
surroundings of waste containers. Six
behavioural interventions, which were
tested on target group included:
1. Self-correction by self-reflection:
placing a mirror next to the waste
container, so that people see
themselves when bringing their waste
to the container.
2. Injunctive social norm: placing a picture of a person littering next
to waste containers alongside the
request to behave in the right way by
throwing trash bags in the appropriate
containers.
3. Descriptive social norm: placing
alongside the waste containers a
sign with the text: “Help to keep
it clean here: most people in this
neighborhood do not litter around
the containers”.
4. Monitoring and penalties: monitoring
waste container sites and placing a
warning that littering can result in a
fine.
5. Commitment and consistency: the “foot-in-the-door” approach consists
in first prompting people to a generic
commitment (e.g. commit to keeping
the neighborhood clean) and then
giving them a concrete hint of how to
honour that commitment (e.g. placing
a sign next to the container inviting
them to keep the neighborhood clean
by not littering).
6. Setting the right norm: emptying the containers more frequently and
keeping their location clean.
Learnings and Insights from Behavioural Field StudiesPolicy Guidelines Promoting Behaviour Change for Strengthening Waste Segregation at Source 19

The results of the experiment showed that
three of the interventions had statistically
significant effects. The descriptive social
norm intervention led to a reduction in
littering frequency from 50% to 30%;
mechanisms based on monitoring and
penalties resulted in a reduction from
51% to 29%, and commitment devices
led to a reduction from 45% to 28%. For
the remaining interventions, no significant
effect was observed.
5.5 De
change recycling behaviours
[19]
There are different models for predicting
the understanding of behavior. The COM-B
model is one such model which provides
a simple framework for understanding
behavior in which ‘capability’ (physical
and psychological), ‘opportunity’ (physical
and social) and ‘motivation’ (automatic
and reflective) are conceptualised as
three essential conditions for behavior.
There are nine interventions functions
surrounding the COM-B model that can
be used to address deficits in one or more
of capability, opportunity or motivation.
These intervention functions can be
further linked to the behavior change
techniques that are applicable.
Psychological capability may include the
interventions like education, training,
and enablement. These intervention
functions could be increasing knowledge
or understanding, imparting skills,
increasing means/reducing barriers to
increase capability and opportunity.
Physical opportunity include training,
restriction & environmental restructuring.
The intervention functions could be
changing the physical or social context
and enablement, using rules to increase
the target behavior by reducing the
opportunity to engage in competing
behaviors. One such example is use of
signage (communication/marketing) or
through establishing voluntary agreements
that outline rules for recycling in the
workplace (regulation). An intervention
aiming to restructure the environment
by providing bins may achieve this by
creating mandatory workplace guidelines.
Under the motivational approach,
persuasion, incentivisation and coercion
have been recommended by researchers,
intervention developers and policy
makers. However, it has been found that
interventions aimed at capability and
opportunity rather than motivation are
likely to be the most effective. These
intervention include changes in bin
positioning, the addition of informational
signage, and incentives to give up
individual under-desk waste bins.
Learnings and Insights from Behavioural Field StudiesPolicy Guidelines Promoting Behaviour Change for Strengthening Waste Segregation at Source 20

CHALLENGES AND
BARRIERS
Chapter 6

As outlined earlier, Waste Segregation at
Source has distinct advantages, and there
are several policy mandates to support
it. However, simple as it sounds, there
remain several impediments that prevent
WSS from becoming the norm. Primary
waste generators, be it households,
street vendors and consumers, or
commercial establishments such as
restaurants and shopkeepers, may not
have enough sensitivity towards waste
management. They may not have the
required infrastructure in place, they
may not prioritize it, or they may be
too preoccupied to engage in source
segregation. This understanding needs to
be nuanced with the Indian socio-cultural
context, within which the psychological
tendencies unfold because, more often
than not the socio-cultural context
provides affordances (or barriers) to
socially desirable action. Any policy that
requires public engagement and civic
action would fail to materialize at the
ground level if it is not congruent with
how the social actors think and behave.
6.1 W
waste
India has a healthy tradition of segregating
waste at homes, which is often witnessed
in the form of careful segregation and
collection of newspaper, plastic and glass
bottles, pieces of metal etc. This waste
is periodically sold to the kabadiwala
(ragpicker). Even the meagre income
generated by this practice has worked
as sufficient incentive for its adoption
over generations, and its popularization
across socio-economic profiles. This
practice has created a systematic,
though un-organised, value chain which
is providing employment and livelihood
to many- ragpickers, aggregators and
recyclers.
Notably however, only wastes that have
some market value are segregated and
enter the value chain. This can be observed
at the household levels where only wastes
that the raddiwala is willing to purchase
are segregated and collected, in the
selective mining of saleable waste from
landfills/garbage dumps by ragpickers, or
at the material recovery facilities.
Facilities that can process segregated
waste have not kept pace with the current
levels of generation. It is estimated that
the waste to compost potential in the
country stands at 54 lakh TPA. 145 plants
are currently operational with capacity
for producing 13.11 lakh TPA. The waste to
energy capacity is estimated at 541 MW.
At present 7 plants produce 88.4 MW.
Challenges and
Barriers
Challenges and Barriers22

Thus policies that widen and deepen the
market for segregated waste can create
incentives for waste segregation all along
the waste value chain, right up to the level
of the waste generation.
6.2 G
waste management capacity
of ULBs
Inadequate infrastructure, operational
inefficiencies, and poor services for
collection and transportation of segregated
waste can have a direct bearing on
waste segregation behaviour. Individuals,
whether as part of households or as
members of communities or institutions,
are the key to source segregation of
waste. However, it is observed that citizen
willingness to segregate waste at source
is often not backed up by the required
institutional mechanism for its collection,
transportation, treatment, recycling or
disposal. This task falls within the purview
of Urban Local Bodies (ULBs). Without
the necessary mechanisms, often source
segregation either does not take off or
loses momentum soon after.
In reverse, Kuching South City, Sarawak,
Malaysia witnessed dramatic improvement
in community participation after
availability of infrastructure (bins and
collection centres) and regular collections
were ensured.
[20]
Location and convenience
of access of recycling bins, and regularity
in street sweeping and waste collection
are important determinants for adoption
or rejection of SWM services.
[21]
The
cleanliness and absence of litter at the site
of Prayagraj Kumbh 2019 can be attributed
to availability of properly designed
and adequate solid waste collection
and transportation infrastructure. The
organizing authorities deployed 20,000
specially designed dustbins, 120 tipper
vehicles and 40 compactors to evacuate
10,000 tonnes of solid waste from the site
over 50 days.
CAG’s Report also indicated that despite clear enunciation of roles
and responsibilities for agencies at
all levels under SBM, there exists a
lack of accountability at the district
level. ULBs lacked exclusive SWM
cells, coupled with shortage of
manpower, including appointment
against sanctioned positions. While
many trainings on SWM have been
conducted for ULB staff, deficiencies
in trainings were observed including
poor attendance, participation by staff
that do not have the responsibility of
SWM, use of non-standardised training
modules, and use of uninteresting
and conventional training methods,
all leading to poor training outcomes.
Poor maintenance and non-replacement
of worn-out collection vehicles also
has been observed to dis-incentivise
responsible waste disposal behaviour
by citizens as these are interpreted as
indicators of a fractured SWM system.
22]
CAG’s Performance Audit Report 2018
for the State of Goa
[
23] highlights
the gaps in SWM infrastructure
like environmentally unsound
transportation, manual handling
of waste without protective gear,
unscientific leachate management and
absence of fencing and fire-fighting
equipment at waste processing and
disposal sites. Only nine out of 14
ULBs were observed to have waste
processing facilities, almost all of
which are under-utilised to the extent
of 103.40 TPD, clearly indicating poor
collection and segregation outcomes.
Challenges and BarriersPolicy Guidelines Promoting Behaviour Change for Strengthening Waste Segregation at Source 23

There were no waste management
plans in place as yet for bio-medical,
hazardous and electronic wastes. The
report also highlights week monitoring
by State Pollution Control Board.
6.3 Unintuitive product, packaging,
and dustbin design
Waste segregation is often perceived as a physical and cognitive burden, which
disincetivises source segregation. Most
persons encounter the challenge of
identifying waste type (whether the waste
is plastic, fabric or wood), and which waste
is to be disposed-off in which dustbin.
Literature suggests that often waste bin
design is unintuitive and a by-product
of complex waste sorting regulations.
Correct waste sorting requires conscious
effort instead of being an automatic,
effortless act.
Furthermore, segregating different types
of wastes before disposal into appropriate
dustbins is oftentimes difficult for
physical reasons as well. Packaging often
comprises plastic lined paper. If source
segregation is to be done, it will require a
tedious exercise of pulling apart the two
layers and disposing them off separately.
Most consumers would be disinclined to
do it. The same can be said for products as
well. The common electric wire comprises
a metal wire housed in a plastic tubing.
Separating metal from plastic is again
cumbersome.
6.4 Fr
Waste segregation at source implicitly implies that its onus rests with every
citizen. In the Indian context however,
domestic staff and commercially engaged
sanitation workers also have a significant
role. Since stakeholders come from a very
wide range of socio-economic, language,
literacy, and lifestyle backgrounds,
uniform and effective messaging remains
a challenge. Messaging on various
categories of waste varies from state to
state, and even from one city to another
within a state. Different organisations,
be it urban local bodies or civil society
organisations, develop their own, and
often unique messages, which can even
be contradictory and confusing.
Furthermore, people’s perceptions may
not be based on scientific facts at all,
resulting in wrong choices. The non-woven
bags, which are 80% polypropylene (PP)
and remaining 20% polyester
[24]
are often
mistaken as cloth bags. They are thus
proliferating in retail outlets as alternatives
to Single-Use Plastic (SUP) carry bags. In
reality, their constituent polymers, much
like plastics, have indefinite life in the
environment.
Effective messaging, which is informed
by attitude-behaviour gaps (whereby
individuals do not reckon correct waste
disposal as necessary civic duty), by
miscalculation of the consequences
of littering (both personal, e.g. being
fined, and public, e.g. generating an
environmental externality in the form of
unregulated dumpsites) and by negative
social norms (whereby individuals can be
“incentivised” to litter if they see everyone
else doing so) can reduce littering. COVID
has amply demonstrated that people are
more likely to adopt responsible behaviour
through effective messaging, provided
they are able to establish a connection
between lifestyle choices and its negative
impact on their health.
There is a need for an extensive survey
for gathering information on available
facilities, existing knowledge and practices
in order to prepare a uniform and effective
messaging strategy.
Challenges and BarriersPolicy Guidelines Promoting Behaviour Change for Strengthening Waste Segregation at Source 24

6.5 G
solid waste
Data on municipal solid waste as on date
is sketchy. Most estimates on quantity of
MSW are based on per capita estimates,
which according to the Handbook on
Service Level Benchmarks (SLBs)
[25]
is
unreliable. There are capacity gaps amongst
key stakeholders for data collection,
compilation and reporting. Furthermore,
data can be patchy, with long temporal
and spatial gaps. The Performance Audit
of Solid Waste Management in ULBs
in Karnataka by CAG in 2018 observed
that in some ULBs, assessment of waste
generation was conducted in the year
2005 for a period of five years and later
in 2016 under Swachh Bharat Mission
(SBM) scheme for similar period, leaving
a large data gap for the period 2010 to
2016. MSW data is not available for all
ULBs, and even where it is available, there
are gaps in reported values under various
data heads. Data’s unreliability and partial
availability prevents its utilisation for the
purpose of review, planning, and evidence
based policy formulation.
The Performance Audit of Solid Waste
Management in ULBs in Karnataka by
CAG in 2018 yielded that out of 281
DPRs, only 218 had received approval
of the High Powered Committee, and
58 ULBs had not even commenced
preparation. DPRs were found to be
based on unscientific and inadequate
assessment of MSW generation, and
had made incorrect assessment of
design capacity. Out of the 30 DPRs
studied, none had mentioned measures
to manage e-waste, hazardous waste,
hospital waste and industrial waste.
Just as importantly, involvement of
key stakeholders in planning process
was often found to be absent, leading
to poor support and ineffective
implementation.
The situation is still worse with respect
to data on CND waste, plastics, e-waste,
biomedical waste etc. The CPCB Annual
Report on Implementation of Plastic
Waste 2018-19
[26]
is the most authoritative
compilation of state-wise plastic waste
generation data. The report acknowledges
that many ULBs have not submitted
their plastic waste generation figures.
Furthermore, the annual plastic waste
generation assessed as 3,360,043 MT, is
considerably lower than the estimates in
CPCB’s 2015 report on Assessment and
Quantification of Plastic Waste Generation
in Major Cities
[26]
. The latter estimated
plastic waste at 5.5 million MT based on
extrapolation of data from 60 cities.
6.6 Socio-Cultural Characteristics
Relevant to the Domain of
Waste Segregation
Some of the above-mentioned barriers
get accentuated in the Indian society
because of unique socio-cultural
characteristics. Some of these are
described below:
6.6.1 W
Indian Households: Whose
Responsibility?
One of the unique surveys conducted
among nationally representative sample
of Indian households can provide
informative insights to this question. The
Ministry of Statistics and Programme
Implementation and the Indian National
Statistical Office (NSO) launched a
landmark ‘Time Use Survey: How Indians
Spend Their Time’ during the period
from January 2019 to December 2019
to measure the time spent by urban
and rural household members in doing
various activities
[27]
. More importantly,
the primary objective of the survey was
“to measure participation of men, women,
Challenges and BarriersPolicy Guidelines Promoting Behaviour Change for Strengthening Waste Segregation at Source 25

and other groups of persons in paid and
unpaid activities.” Paid activities included
activities that lead to certain monetary
compensation, and unpaid activities are
compensation-free. The latter are mostly
obligatory and more often than not, acts
of responsibility for the well-being and
care of household members. Cleaning
and maintenance of the household
premises falls within the latter category.
The survey covered 1, 38, 799 households
with members ranging from 6 to 60 years
of age. It was observed that the division
of labour differs markedly among males
and females. In rural areas, while males
on average spent 98 minutes per day in
household activities, females spent 301
minutes. The observations were similar for
urban households. Male spent 94 minutes,
while females spent 293 minutes.
What do these numbers tell us in terms
of the demographic context of WSS? It is
striking that across rural and urban areas,
the responsibility of cleaning or waste-
related activities are undertaken by female
members. Not only is this divide prevalent
at an early age, but it continues till the
later years, and is hardly any different in
urban and rural populace.
Thus gender-agnostic public policy
interventions may, therefore, fall short
of the achieved targets because many
guidelines may potentially have the male
subject in mind, whereas the work is
actually carried out by the women.
6.6.2 Domestic Workers in Households
and Employed Manual Labour in
Commercial Establishments
Another unique feature of Indian society
is that most households and commercial
establishments have ‘paid labour’ who
carry out manual work. Domestic work
such as sweeping, cleaning utensils,
washing clothes, cooking, caring of
children and such other work is carried
out for an employer for remuneration
by domestic help. Those employed in
domestic work have little or no education.
“Official statistics place the numbers
employed in India as 4.75 million (of
which 3 million are women), but this is
considered as severe underestimation and
the true number has been estimated to
be more between 20 million to 80 million
workers”.
[28]
In such arrangements of delegation of
work, cleaning activities are downplayed
in the value chain and are not integrated
in the overall ecosystem of households
or the commercial establishments. This
conception of work in the Indian society
is often ignored and the guidelines on
waste segregation are targeted keeping
the literate and educated population in
mind. Although the Municipal Solid Waste
Management Guidelines 2016 put the onus
of waste segregation on waste generators,
assuming that these identities overlap. In
reality, waste generators and potential
waste segregators are not one and same
entity even in the same household and
commercial establishments because of
delegation of the waste management
chore.
6.7 Other Socio-Cultural
Considerations
Drawing upon research in cross- cultural management, three cultural
dimensions are proposed that may be
useful in understanding attitudes and
behaviours relevant to waste segregation-
collectivism, power distance, and
uncertainty avoidance. On a scale from
0-100, India has an intermediate score
of 48 in collectivism, a high score of 77
in power distance, and a medium low
score of 40 on uncertainty avoidance.
[28]
The implications and manifestations of
Challenges and BarriersPolicy Guidelines Promoting Behaviour Change for Strengthening Waste Segregation at Source 26

the theoretical dimensions are elaborated
below.
Collectivism: With a score of 48, India
is somewhere in the middle of individual
and collectivism dimension. Scholars
theorize that there is a ‘coexistence
of opposites’ in Indian society. People
may have a high degree of individual
aspirations and goals, but those must
conform with the in-group’s preference
and values.
[29]
Moreover the collectivism in
the Indian context is characterized by a
rigid in-group and out-group distinction
wherein in-group harmony and well-
being is valued at the expense, neglect,
or indifference to out-group. In the realm
of maintaining cleanliness and managing
waste, it means that groups such as
apartment, residential complexes, and
gated communities would define the
psychological boundaries, or the physical
radius of the focal area of concern in a
very limited manner. Beyond the in-group
boundaries, the out-group be it other
people or physical space is looked at
with indifference. Hence, high degree of
cleanliness and hygiene are practiced in
households or in one’s own residential
complexes. The standards literally go
down the drain in public spaces and civic
spaces.
Power Distance: India is mostly
associated with hierarchical, top-down,
and controlling social structures. It is
common for people to be more receptive
to external demands, commands,
expectations, and obligations, rather than
being autonomous and self-guided. Hence,
there is a proclivity to maintain civic sense
when it is enforced by the authority of law
or rules or regulations. In the domain of
waste segregation, there is much greater
likelihood for desirable behaviours to
occur when there is a perceived sense of
‘expected’ or ‘prescribed’ behaviour by an
external authority or agency.
Uncertainty Avoidance: This dimension
is correlated with the society’s level of
comfort with ambiguities and unknowns.
India has a score of 40, which implies that
members display a fairly high propensity to
tolerate the imperfections or unexpected
instead of feeling nervous or anxious
about it. This may be counterproductive
for triggering certain environmental crisis-
related fears and anxiety, as the overall
attitude is one of relaxed indifference and
apathy, or a ‘chalta hai’ attitude.
Considering that the socio-cultural
characteristics such as household
structures, division of labour, and the
country-level dimensions are unique to the
country, any intervention designed to alter
a public behaviour would not be effective,
if it is not congruent with the contextual
realities. Hence, behavioural interventions,
as discussed in the following section, are
potentially powerful ways to achieve the
desired targets in WSS vis-à-vis the socio-
cultural context considerations.
Challenges and BarriersPolicy Guidelines Promoting Behaviour Change for Strengthening Waste Segregation at Source 27

POLICY
RECOMMENDATIONS
Chapter 7

This policy guidelines highlights
the behavioural interventions that
have been found effective in driving
socially-desirable behaviour among
individuals in different parts of the
world. In light of the existing policy
mandates and the barriers that
prevent them from being optimally
realized on the ground in India, the
following policy recommendations
are proposed.
7.1 S
segregated waste
It is observed that source segregation of
waste occurs mostly for wastes that have
a market value. In order to incentivize
individuals, households and institutions to
segregate different waste streams in order
to strengthen their market proposition,
the following measures are suggested:
Greening Public Procurement : A
green public procurement policy can
be a powerful catalyst for promotion
of recyclables as government is
one of the largest procurers of
products. Mandatory or preferential
procurement of products that have
recycled waste content above
a prescribed threshold may be
considered for adoption.
Mandatory Recycling Content in Products: Policy initiatives like the
National Policy on Biofuels prescribes a 20% blending mandate for biofuels with fossil-based fuels by 2025. A
similar end-of-pipeline target, in
the form of a minimum percentage
of recycled material content in
identified products, has potential
for strengthening the market
case for utilisation of segregated
waste, thereby incentivising source
segregation. The recycled content
targets shall also strengthen
implementation of the EPR mandate
under the larger circular economy
umbrella. Additionally it may also
help reduce input cost of products
that substitute expensive virgin
materials with cheaper recyclables as
raw material.
Incentivising and facilitating use of waste: Use of waste can
be incentivized by developing innovative waste-based technologies and products, and linking waste
utilisation to fiscal or other benefit.
Benefits may be in the form of relief
in house tax, water tax or property
registration tax, or fast tracking of
mandatory permissions, similar to
Policy
Recommendations
Policy Recommendations30

GRIHA incentives. This approach
can be further strengthened by
developing BIS codes (like BIS
383:2016) for adoption of different
recycled materials to promote their
acceptability e.g., waste plastics etc.
Strengthen waste utilization
facilities: Mechanisms for support
existing waste utilization facilities in
the form of linkages with suppliers
of segregated waste, notably ULBs
and waste aggregators, viability
gap funding and innovative business
models may be considered.
7.2 Strengthening capacities
of ULBs and institutional
mechanisms for management
of segregated waste
Policy support that strengthens capacity
of ULBs for management of segregated
waste shall be crucial for achieving
source segregation. Suggested areas of
intervention are:
Strengthening financial capacity of ULBs-This may be achieved by
augmenting funding to ULBs for SWM.
A key intervention shall be ensuring
timely finalization and approval of
SWM DPRs of all ULBs under Swachh
Bharat Mission Urban, so that project
financing activities can commence
at the earliest. Alternatively ULBs
may be supported and incentivized
to raise matching financial resources
through local taxes, user charges,
land leveraging, innovative revenue
streams, and other mechanisms
prescribed in Swachh Bharat Mission
Urban Guidelines 2017.
[30]
Adequacy of physical infrastructure and services- ULBs should procure
adequate and suitably designed
infrastructure required for collection
27
(individual and community bins),
transportation (compartmentalized collection vehicles), and treatment
of segregated waste (secondary
sorting or material recovery facilities
etc.). Indore converted vehicles of
1 m
3
capacity into 3.2 m
3
capacity,
keeping the same payload of 1
ton as per the RTO norms. This
resulted in decreased vehicle and
staff requirement, and saved capital
and operational costs for the ULB.
Planning of SWM services could
include bin free services, strategic
sighting of bins and establishment
of recycling facilities with maximum
visibility. These can be backed up
by efficient, predictable, timely
and consistent service delivery. For
example bin free city initiative may
be planned where waste generators
have to empty their dustbins directly
into ULB’s waste collection vehicles
at specified time. Further, the
procurement of equipment can be
facilitated by ensuring availability
of appropriate technologies and
equipment on GeM portal.
Effective leadership and governance
framework- This requires prioritiza-
tion of waste management by the
topmost political and administrative
levels within ULBs. Simultaneously,
subordinate bureaucracy and staff
should be strengthened by decentral-
ization of responsibilities, capacity
building, and accountability mecha-
nisms. For e.g., sanitary inspectors,
who are directly involved with day-
to-day operations should undergo
regular monitoring, reporting and
review based on key process indi -
cators (KPIs). They may even be
empowered to levy fines. Corpo -
rations need to notify bye-laws for
fines, and fine structure needs to be
Policy RecommendationsPolicy Guidelines Promoting Behaviour Change for Strengthening Waste Segregation at Source 31

clearly defined for every type of vio-
lation.
7.3 Pr
Dustbin Design
Nudge interventions can be designed to target psychological barriers to adoption
of responsible waste segregation and
civic behaviour. Choice architecture that
minimizes need for conscious thinking
can drive segregation decisions to the
sub-conscious, resulting in intuitive
desirable actions. The following measures
are suggested for adoption:
W
predicated on three simple co-mingled waste streams- wet, dry
and inert. This principle should be
adopted uniformly across the nation,
and all waste collection infrastructure,
including bins, should be planned
accordingly. All biodegradable
waste should be disposed in wet, all
recyclable waste in dry, and remaining
in inert. Household, communities and
institutions may be encouraged to
compost wet waste in-situ. Dry waste
may be collected and transported to
Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs) or
Dry Waste Collection (DWC) Centres,
where it can be sorted manually or
mechanically by trained persons with
the help of necessary equipment.
The remaining inert waste may be
disposed-off in landfills.
A unif
adopted across the nation for the three co-mingled waste streams.
Suggested code is green for wet
waste, blue for dry waste, and black
for inerts.
Pr
carry suitable colour labels to guide disposal behaviour choices of
consumers, much like the green and red dots used to indicate vegetarian
and non-vegetarian foods. For
example, recycleable products or
packaging should carry a blue symbol
to guide consumers to do the end-
of-life disposal in the blue dustbin.
Pr
be designed innovatively to make dismantling and disposal simple
and intuitive, thus making source
segregation automatic. Policies that
incentivizes innovations in product
and packaging design should be
encouraged.
7.4 S
The role of IEC messaging is well documented for the purpose of sensitizing
and informing waste generators to
nudge them towards adoption of socially
responsible civic behaviour, including
waste segregation. However, for it to result
in optimal outcomes, it is suggested that
IEC messaging for source segregation
should be based on the following
principles:
Mes
ensure that every member of the household/community/institution
is able to identify and possess the
knowledge of different kinds of
waste- wet, dry and inert.
Mes
multi-lingual to widen effective outreach amongst the diverse
population of the country.
Mes
and unambiguous, linked to health
impacts of poor waste management,
and informed by science.
Mes
segregation and management
infrastructure including conformity
Policy RecommendationsPolicy Guidelines Promoting Behaviour Change for Strengthening Waste Segregation at Source 32

with the principle of three co-mingled
waste streams.
Mes
responsible cutting and disposal of items like milk packets/cartons,
chips packets etc. Separation of tiny
cut pieces of the packets make the
fragmented pieces extremely difficult
to collect and recycle, hence more
awareness regarding these details
will be helpful in the long run.
Mes
address domestic hazardous
waste like batteries, pesticides,
lubricants, broken glass, paints
etc., and household medical waste.
Unequivocal messaging on their
harmful impacts on society, health
and environment as a whole, are to
be very clearly indicated through all
possible mediums.
T
is equally important in crafting the messages so the messaging
resonates with the users. Hence
messages as wells as the channels of
communications should be uniquely
tailored to the target group. In case
of bulk generators, guidelines can
be provided on code of conduct,
planned group activities, organizing
workshops etc.
P
pressure, social proof or authority- endorsed messages can be effective
in bringing about behaviour change.
Urban
citizens not only through public
messaging but also through one-
on-one interactions and education
by leveraging collaborations and
partnerships with NGOs and
CSOs. This can include innovative
approaches like attaching NGO/
CSO personnel with waste collection
vehicles who would educate citizens
at household level and ensure waste
segregation.
Furthermore, strategic locations
should be identified to consistently communicate messages on source
segregation. Shopping malls,
supermarkets and retail stores have
been found to be effective for such
communications, especially at billing
queues as customers wait their turn
to pay for purchases.
7.5 Use of fiscal incentives and
disincentives to encourage
source segregation:
The following fiscal measures may be
considered towards engendering positive
social action in the short term, and ensuring
attitudinal and behavioural change in the
long-term. However, their success will
depend on the ability of ULBs to build
commensurate capacity amongst its staff,
and ability to plug waste leakages in the
form of unaccounted waste dumping
along roadsides, on vacant plots of land,
and into khuds and drains, to avoid the
waste collection fee.
Pay As You Throw (PAYT): This
intervention entails a waste collection
fee from the waste generator in
proportion to the total quantity
of waste being disposed. Waste
generators will be incentivized to
segregate, treat and dispose-off
waste at source, leaving a smaller
amount to be handed over to the
municipal system. Wet waste can be
disposed of by in-situ composting,
and dry waste through sale to the
local raddiwala.
Duration of Landfill Permits: Private
operators of landfills can be incen-
Policy RecommendationsPolicy Guidelines Promoting Behaviour Change for Strengthening Waste Segregation at Source 33

tivized to minimize landfill dumping
if the duration of their landfill opera-
tion permit is determined by airspace
available in the landfill, and not on
number of years of operation. This
will, on the one hand encourage
waste recovery, and on the other it
will incentivise waste minimization
and segregation in the upstream of
solid waste collection system.
7.6 S
Waste
Data on waste generation (different waste categories and aggregated) is crucial for
monitoring, identifying priority areas of
intervention, designing context-specific
local waste management solutions,
and planning ground-level operational
details like number of vehicles, route
management, waste collection tracking
etc. Data will also help identify waste
segregation hotspots for targeted
messaging and IEC activities. Data when
shared with public can be a tool of
sensitization and awareness. Information
highlighting positive instances of desired
behaviour can be a powerful tool to nudge
people into adopting socially desirable
behaviours.
Hence it is recommended that:
ICT
reporting, including red flagging
unreliable data sets.
Capacity of ULBs for data collection
should be augmented with the help of focused trainings modules for
concerned staff. Data collection
shall improve if subordinate staff
perceives data as a tool that eases
operations, and not just as a tool for
chastisement.
A
periodic review by senior officials, and as a decision support tool. This
shall help prioritise quality data
collection amongst subordinate staff.
Independent agencies should be
engaged for data validation in order to improve data reliability.
30
Policy RecommendationsPolicy Guidelines Promoting Behaviour Change for Strengthening Waste Segregation at Source 34

highlighting positive instances of desired
behaviour can be a powerful tool to nudge
people into adopting socially desirable
behaviours.
Hence it is recommended that:
ICT tools should be adopted for data
reporting, including red flagging
unreliable data sets.
Capacity of ULBs for data collection
should be augmented with the help of focused trainings modules for
concerned staff. Data collection
shall improve if subordinate staff
perceives data as a tool that eases
operations, and not just as a tool for
chastisement.
Available data should be used for
periodic review by senior officials, and as a decision support tool. This
shall help prioritise quality data
collection amongst subordinate staff.
Independent agencies should be
engaged for data validation in order to improve data reliability.
30
1. Swachh Bharat Mission [Internet]. [cited
2021 Nov 11]. Available from: http://swa-
chhbharaturban.gov.in/dashboard/
2. Kaza S, Yao LC, Bhada-Tata P, Van Woerden F. What a Waste 2.0: A Global
Snapshot of Solid Waste Management to
2050 [Internet]. Washington, DC: World
Bank; 2018 [cited 2021 Nov 11]. Available
from: https://openknowledge.worldbank.
org/handle/10986/30317
3. Sharma KD, Jain S. Overview of Municipal
Solid Waste Generation, Composition, and
Management in India. Journal of Environ-
mental Engineering. 2019 45(3):04018143.
4. Working Group 1 contribution to the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis — IPCC [Internet]. [cited 2021 Nov 11]. Available from: https://www.ipcc.ch/ report/ar5/wg1/
5. Pretz T. Processing of municipal household waste material. In: Mineral Processing on the Verge of the 21st Century(pp. 627-636). Routledge; 2000.
6. Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016; Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016; Bio-Medical Waste Management Rules, 2016; E-Waste Management Rules, 2016; Hazardous and other Waste (Manage- ment and Transboundary Movement) Rules 2016; Construction and Demolition
Waste Management Rules, 2016 .
7. Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assesment [Internet]. [cited 2021 Nov 11]. Available from: https://www.grihain- dia.org/griha-incentive
8. http://swachhbharaturban.gov.in/ RPT_DashBoard.aspx?id=c00b- 0004d25a9f22ba135c5c0bdcfb19
9. Sunstein CR. Behavioral Science and
Public Policy. Elements in Public Eco-
nomics [Internet]. 2020 Oct [cited 2021
Nov 11]; Available from: https://www.
cambridge.org/core/elements/behavior-
al-science-and-public-policy/13D1F3ED-
A08E6446EADBFAF838606F91
10. UN Environment Programme. The Little Book of Green Nudges [Internet]. 2020 [cited 2021 Nov 11]. Available from: http://www.unep.org/resources/publica- tion/little-book-green-nudges
11. Cialdini, RB. Influence: Science and Practice, 5th Edition. Boston: Pearson Education, 2009.
12. Engelmann JB, Capra CM, Noussair C, Berns GS. Expert Financial Advice Neurobiologically “Offloads” Financial Decision-Making under Risk. PLOS ONE. 2009 Mar 24;4(3):e4957.
13. Martin S. 98% of HBR Readers Love This Article. Harvard Business Review [Internet]. 2012 Oct 1 [cited 2021 Nov 11]; Available from: https://hbr.org/2012/10/98-of-hbr-
readers-love-this-article
References
References 35

14. Allcott H. Social norms and energy con-
servation. Journal of Public Economics.
2011;95(9–10):1082–95.
15. Torres, M., & Carlsson, F. (2016); (Rep.). Environment for Development Initiative. Retrieved February 4, 2021, from https:// www.jstor.org/stable/resrep15042?se- q=1#metadata_info_tab_contents
16. Zhijian Z, Xueyuan W. Nudging to promote household waste source sepa- ration: Mechanisms and spillover effects. Resources, conservation, and recycling. 2020 Nov;162:105054.
17. Ramesh G., Tripathi R., Raj P. Kumbh 2019 An Integrative Assessment, 2021; Report submitted to Prayagraj Mela Pradhikaran
18. Tackling Environmental Prob- lems with the Help of Behavioural Insights [Internet]. oecd-ilibrary. org. [cited 2021 Nov 11]. Available from: https://read.oecd-ilibrary.org/ environment/tackling-environmen- tal-problems-with-the-help-of-be- havioural-insights_9789264273887-en
19. Gainforth HL, Sheals K, Atkins L, Jackson R, Michie S. Developing interventions to change recycling behaviors: A case study of applying behavioral science. Applied Environmental Education & Communication. 2016 Oct 1;15(4):325–39.
20. Otitoju TA, Seng L. Municipal Solid Waste Management: Household Waste Segregation in Kuching South City, Sarawak, Malaysia. American Journal of Engineering Research. 2014;10.
21. Venkateswaran S. Managing Waste: Ecological, Economic and Social Dimen- sions. Economic and Political Weekly. 1994;29(45/46):2907–11.
22. Hazra T., Goel, S. Solid waste manage- ment in Kolkata, India: Practices and challenges. Waste management, 2009; 29: 470-478.
23. Audit Reports Accountant General, GOA [Internet]. [cited 2021 Nov 11]. Available
from: https://cag.gov.in/ag/goa/en/ audit-report
24. Toxics Link for a toxics-free world
[Internet]. [cited 2021 Nov 11]. Avail- able from: https://www.toxicslink. org/?q=content/%20environmental-illu- sion-non-wo-%20ven-bags
25. Service Level Benchmarks: Ministry of
Housing and Urban Affairs, Goverment of India [Internet]. [cited 2021 Nov 11]. Available from: https://mohua.gov.in/ cms/Service-Level-Benchmarks.php
26. Central Pollution Control Board Annual Report 2018-19 [Internet]. [cited 2021 Nov 11]. Available from: https://cpcb.nic. in/annual-report.php
27. Time Use in India-2019 Ministry of
Statistics and Program Implementation
|Government Of India [Internet]. [cited
2021 Nov 11]. Available from: http://
mospi.nic.in/publication/time-use-in-
dia-2019
28. About domestic work [Internet]. 2010 [cited 2021 Nov 11]. Available from: http://www.ilo.org/newdelhi/info/ WCMS_141187/lang--en/index.htm
29. Hofstede G, Hofstede GJ, Minkov M. Cultures and organizations: Software of the mind. New York: Mcgraw-hill; 2005.
30. Sinha D, Tripathi RC. Individualism in a collectivist culture: A case of coex-
istence of opposites. In: Individualism and collectivism:  Theory, method, and applications. Thousand Oaks, CA, US: Sage Publications, Inc; 1994. p. 123–36. (Cross-cultural research and methodol- ogy series, Vol. 18).
31. Assessment and quantification of plas- tics waste generation in major cities - India Environment [Internet]. [cited 2021 Nov 11]. Available from: http:// www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/ content/422053/assessment-and-quan- tification-of-plastics-waste-genera- tion-in-major-cities/
ReferencesPolicy Guidelines Promoting Behaviour Change for Strengthening Waste Segregation at Source 36

Designed by
POLICY NOTE BEHAVIOUR CHANGE FOR STRENGTHENING WASTE SEGREGATION AT SOURCE AT INSTITUTIONAL AND HOUSEHOLD LEVELS
Designd biysid
Promoting Behaviour Change 
for Strengthening 
Waste Segregation
at Source