India, Sept. 24 -- Twenty-five years ago, on September 25, 2000, India's first Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) Management Rules were introduced - born out of a Supreme Court order at the time. Ironically, a quarter century later, courts are still pushing governments to clean up their act. Cities such as Delhi, Gurugram, and Bengaluru are struggling with garbage-strewn spaces, dysfunctional treatment facilities and overflowing landfills. Large swathes of urban India are in the throes of a solid waste crisis.

Meanwhile, the regulatory framework has since expanded with the 2016 Solid Waste Management (SWM) Rules, accompanied by rules on construction waste, plastic waste, e-waste, biomedical and hazardous waste. Despite a huge infrastructure pus...