Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) is planning to enforce new Solid Waste Management (SWM) Rules 2026, under which, four-stream waste segregation at source is mandatory for bulk generators of the city soon. Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) implemented the new Solid Waste Management Rule 2026 country-wide on April 1. Under this new Rule, Bulk Waste Generators (BWG) are residential societies, hotels, hospitals, or malls, with a total floor area of 20,000 square metres or more, water consumption of 40,000 litres per day, or solid waste generation of 100 kg per day or more.

 

The civic body has identified more than 100 BWGs in city so far and the process is underway. “In the first stage, we are identifying bulk generators and after the process, we will provide information about four-stream waste segregation at source. We will provide them time to develop the process in their own premises,” said Dr Gajendra Mahalle, Chief Sanitation Officer, Solid Waste Management Department to ‘The Hitavada’. NMC has included residential societies, hotels and hospitals so far in the list of 100 BWGs which have total floor area of 20,000 square metres or more, water consumption of 40,000 litres per day, or solid waste generation of 100 kg per day or more.

 

As per the new Solid Waste Management Rule 2026, waste must be separated into wet (organic), dry (plastic/paper/metal), sanitary (diapers/napkins), and special care (hazardous/e-waste). BWGs must process wet waste on-site. If on-site processing is not feasible for them, they must obtain an Extended Bulk Waste Generator Responsibility (EBWGR) certificate from the local body to ensure compliant-processing elsewhere. As per the information, BWGs must register on a new centralised online portal to track waste generation and processing, replacing manual reporting. These rules emphasise the “polluter pays” principle and places high accountability on large generators, who account for roughly 30 per cent of total waste, to manage their waste at the source.