How Technology Gap is Slowing Waste-to-Energy Adoption in India?

Waste – produced by households, industries, agriculture, or commercial activities – in traditional disposal systems follows a linear path, often ending up in Landfills or Water Bodies. Year over year, this waste keeps piling up, gravely damaging the ecosystem and public health.

India alone produces over 62 million tons (MT) of waste annually, as reported by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI). Unfortunately, only 43 MT of the total waste generated is collected, and a marginal fraction of 12 MT is treated before disposal. The inconsistency highlights the existing gaps in the treatment and collection systems, even though the Indian Government has introduced progressive initiatives like the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) to manage waste streams and create a circular economy. And one of the main reasons behind this discrepancy is the technology gap, which is slowing down progress despite consistent efforts.

Waste-to-Energy: A Promise of a Brighter and Cleaner Future

Waste of any form – whether fruit or vegetable peels from kitchens or effluent from industries – needs proper treatment and disposal. Organic waste, with the help of advanced technology, can be turned into sources of renewable energy such as biogas, bio-CNG, biochar, and more, bringing India a step closer to its Net Zero 2070 goals. Wastewater, discharged in large quantities from municipal sources and industries, can also be treated and recycled to generate high-quality water that can be reused, reducing the need for fresh water. WOG Technologies has successfully implemented projects that convert thousands of tons of organic waste into renewable energy and treat millions of liters of wastewater annually, demonstrating practical, scalable solutions across industrial and municipal sectors.

Generating energy from waste is also an effective step towards creating a circular economy, where every product is repaired, reused, and recycled.

The Technology Gap: Where the Challenge Lies

Rapid industrialisation and urbanisation are the two primary causes of the rising menace of waste in India. Even though the system is in place for waste collection, segregation, transportation, treatment, and disposal, waste-to-energy adoption struggles due to inconsistent waste quality, outdated or inefficient technologies, and high operational costs.

Managing Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) in India is a serious issue. The lack of standardised segregation at the source, along with high moisture and inert content, significantly reduces its calorific value, thereby complicating the efficiency of combustion, which is generally optimised for dry and homogeneous waste streams.

Feedstock also has a high moisture content and variable composition, including a mix of organic matter, plastics, paper, and glass, which have different combustion properties. With limited adoption of advanced drying, shredding, and refuse-derived fuel (RDF) technologies, there is always an increased risk of equipment damage, corrosion, and slagging, often resulting in unscheduled plant shutdowns for maintenance and repairs. The same applies to anaerobic digestion for biogas, where the lack of process control automation and poor microbial cultures results in low biogas yield and high operation and maintenance costs.

Beyond the industry-specific technological gaps, limited digitalisation or automation of the industrial process is another challenge. Digitalisation benefits operations by automating repetitive tasks and optimising the process, saving significant time compared to a traditional set-up. Without it, operations face high downtime and ineffective performance tracking. India also heavily relies on imported technology, which is not fully compatible with the country’s existing industrial infrastructure and operational requirements, making the process not only costly but also inefficient. Additionally, there is a shortage of skilled workforce for operating these systems, further limiting productivity and operations.

Bridging the Divide: What the Future Demands

For India to accelerate the adoption of waste-to-energy systems on a large scale, it needs to focus on bridging the technological gaps with industry-specific, unique requirements. The priority should be on improving the segregation systems to streamline waste management and improve the efficiency of the entire set-up. Investment in pre-treatment technologies, oxygen-enriched gasification, plasma technologies, and high-efficiency steam turbines are some other key measures to advance the sector.

Most importantly, we must focus on improving our own Research and Development facilities, carrying forward the vision of Make in India. Strengthening the local R&D infrastructure will foster innovation and self-reliance. Encouraging pilot projects, collaborative innovation hubs, and local manufacturing of critical components can ensure that new technologies are both affordable and tailored for India’s diverse waste streams.

It will also enable us to develop cutting-edge technologies tailored to India’s unique needs. Alongside this, we need to automate our systems by embracing modern technologies such as smart sensors, AI, and IoT, and focus on upskilling our workforce through training programmes and industry–academia partnerships.

WOG Technologies is actively bridging these gaps through its integrated solutions across water, wastewater and renewable energy projects. Their initiatives contribute to a carbon footprint reduction of over 750,000+ tons per year, with an additional ongoing reduction of 300,000+ tons per year. WOG’s projects enable biogas generation of 750,000+ nM³/day and power savings of 1,500+ MW per day, while treating over 1,200+ million liters of water and reducing 800+ million liters of fresh water usage annually. These efforts showcase how technology, process optimisation, and advanced solutions can address India’s waste-to-energy challenges effectively. 

In the current scenario, the technology gap is a critical hurdle in India’s waste-to-energy journey. However, targeted government incentives, private sector collaboration, and WOG’s turnkey solutions combining modular plants, automation, and local R&D can accelerate adoption. Deploying small-scale decentralized plants alongside large centralized facilities can also maximize resource recovery while reducing logistical challenges. Waste-to-energy represents an opportunity waiting to be unlocked—a resource that can accelerate our clean energy goals when utilised efficiently.