Environment Minister says India now has sector-specific rules for nine waste streams

23 October 2026

Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav told the Circular Economy Conference in New Delhi on 22 October 2026 that the government has introduced sector-specific rules for nine waste streams.
These include plastic waste, battery waste and e-waste.
The rules focus on waste prevention, recycling, reuse, remanufacturing and resource recovery across the product lifecycle.
About 500 lakh metric tonnes of waste have been processed across the regulated waste streams so far.
The Minister called for better coordination between producers and recyclers on plastic waste, and for stronger recovery of critical minerals from e-waste and batteries.
He urged industry to take a bigger role in building secondary raw-material markets and strengthening supply-chain traceability.