Lucknow has quietly crossed a major milestone in India’s urban sustainability journey. With the launch of the Shivari Solid Waste Management Plant, the Uttar Pradesh capital now scientifically processes 100% of its municipal solid waste, earning the distinction of a zero fresh waste dump city under the Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban.
For a city of nearly 40 lakh residents and about 7.5 lakh establishments, this is no small achievement. Rapid urbanisation has put pressure on infrastructure, especially waste management. Yet, through sustained planning, investment, and execution, the Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC) has built a system that treats waste not as a burden, but as a recoverable resource.
The Shivari Plant: Completing the Waste Processing Puzzle
The newly commissioned Shivari plant is Lucknow’s third fresh waste processing facility, with a capacity of 700 metric tonnes per day. Along with two existing plants of similar capacity, the city can now process more than 2,100 metric tonnes of waste daily, matching its entire waste generation.
This eliminates the need for open dumping of fresh waste, a chronic issue in many Indian cities. With Shivari coming online, Lucknow has become the first city in Uttar Pradesh to achieve 100% scientific processing of municipal solid waste.
For urban planners and policymakers, this marks a critical shift from landfill-dependent disposal to structured, technology-led waste treatment.
How Lucknow Handles Its Daily Waste
Lucknow generates close to 2,000 metric tonnes of waste every day. To manage this volume, LMC, in partnership with Bhumi Green Energy, operates three integrated waste processing plants, each handling 700 MT per day.
Waste collected from households and commercial establishments is segregated into organic and inorganic streams. Organic waste, which makes up around 55% of the total, is converted into compost and biogas. The remaining 45% inorganic waste is sorted for recycling or converted into Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF), which is supplied to cement and paper industries.
The city has also strengthened its collection systems. Door-to-door waste collection efficiency has reached 96.53%, while source segregation has crossed 70%, placing Lucknow among better-performing Indian cities on these metrics.
Tackling the Legacy Waste Problem
Beyond fresh waste, Lucknow has made significant progress in clearing its legacy waste. Of the estimated 18.5 lakh metric tonnes of accumulated waste, around 12.86 lakh metric tonnes have already been scientifically processed.
This effort has yielded multiple by-products. About 2.27 lakh metric tonnes of RDF have been dispatched to industries across India for co-processing. Inert materials, including coarse fractions (4.38 lakh MT), bio-soil (0.59 lakh MT), and construction and demolition waste (2.35 lakh MT), have been reused for landfilling and infrastructure development in low-lying areas.
The result is not just cleaner surroundings, but tangible land recovery.
Reclaiming Land, Building Infrastructure
As legacy waste processing progressed, over 25 acres of land at the site were reclaimed. This reclaimed area is now being developed into a full-scale waste treatment ecosystem with a combined processing capacity of 2,100 metric tonnes per day.
The site includes windrow composting pads, internal roads, processing sheds, dedicated weighbridges, and supporting infrastructure. What was once a dumping ground has been transformed into an organised waste management hub, reflecting the long-term benefits of scientific waste treatment.
Waste-to-Energy: The Next Phase
Lucknow’s waste management roadmap does not stop here. The LMC is now planning to establish a Waste-to-Energy (WtE) plant at the Shivari site.
The proposed facility will have a capacity of 15 MW and is expected to consume 1,000–1,200 metric tonnes of RDF daily. This will help convert non-recyclable waste into electricity while reducing the need to transport RDF to cement factories located nearly 500 km away.
If implemented successfully, the WtE plant could lower transportation costs, cut emissions, and further strengthen Lucknow’s circular economy framework.
A Model Built on Circular Economy Principles
At its core, Lucknow’s waste management strategy is rooted in circular economy principles. The focus is on reducing landfill dependency, maximising material recovery, and ensuring waste re-enters the economic cycle through compost, energy, and industrial fuel.
By improving segregation, investing in processing capacity, and reclaiming land, the city has shown how municipal waste can be managed sustainably at scale.
Lessons for Other Cities
Lucknow’s achievement comes at a time when Indian cities are grappling with rising waste volumes and shrinking landfill space. The city’s experience highlights that consistent policy support, private partnerships, and operational discipline can deliver measurable results.
For other urban local bodies, Lucknow offers a working template: invest in processing capacity, prioritise segregation, address legacy waste, and plan for energy recovery.
As cities grow denser and more complex, such models will be essential. Lucknow’s journey shows that with the right systems in place, even large cities can move decisively toward cleaner, more sustainable urban futures.
