Revoke deregulation of toxic waste-to-energy incinerators: Climate justice alliance

By A Representative 

The National Alliance for Climate and Ecological Justice (NACEJ), a pan-Indian platform of the National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM), has strongly opposed the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC)’s decision to exempt Waste-to-Energy (WTE) incinerators from prior Environmental Clearance (EC) under the EIA Notification, 2006. The alliance has also objected to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB)’s recent move to reclassify these plants from the “Red” to the “Blue” category, calling both measures “anti-people and anti-ecology.”

In a statement, NACEJ described these steps as “a pattern of reckless deregulation” that would severely endanger public health, increase pollution and climate risks, and threaten the livelihoods of millions of informal waste workers. The group urged the MoEFCC and CPCB to immediately revoke the EC exemption, reclassify WTE plants as “Red,” and end all subsidies and renewable energy benefits granted to such incinerators.

The alliance expressed “profound alarm and outrage” at the draft notification (S.O. 4531(E), dated October 3, 2025), which exempts Common Municipal Solid Waste Management Facilities, including WTE incinerators, from prior environmental clearance. This comes soon after the CPCB’s reclassification of WTE plants to the more lenient “Blue” category, ostensibly under the claim of offering “essential environmental services.”

According to NACEJ, the CPCB’s new categorization falsely portrays incinerators as benign, despite official reports confirming the presence of hazardous bottom and fly ash with high levels of heavy metals and toxic chemicals. The group pointed out that CPCB’s own inspections of Delhi’s WTE plants revealed serious environmental violations and that none of the country’s 21 WTE plants comply with the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016.

The alliance also said that removing the EC requirement undermines even minimal regulatory oversight. It contradicts earlier clarifications by the Expert Advisory Committee that such facilities require environmental clearance and weakens enforcement of the Water and Air Acts. NACEJ accused the government of “greenwashing” incineration as a waste-to-wealth model while diverting recyclable materials and undercutting circular economy principles.

NACEJ listed several major concerns arising from deregulation. It said WTE incinerators emit dioxins, furans, and heavy metals that are linked to respiratory diseases, asthma, and cancer, posing grave risks to children and pregnant women. With EC exemptions, the group warned, unchecked emissions and leachate contamination would turn urban neighborhoods into “toxic zones.”

It also highlighted the loss of livelihoods for over four million informal waste workers who depend on recyclable materials for income, saying WTE projects divert paper, plastic, and textiles away from recycling streams. The alliance noted that WTE-generated power is uneconomical, costing more than ₹7 per unit compared with under ₹3.3 per unit for solar and wind energy, thereby burdening taxpayers with subsidies for polluting technologies.

On climate grounds, NACEJ said each ton of waste incinerated emits about 1.7 tons of carbon dioxide, with Delhi’s four WTE plants together releasing emissions equivalent to those from 30 lakh passenger cars. The group cited city-level climate action plans, including those of Chennai and Mumbai, which have rejected WTE as a viable waste management solution. It also noted that Indian municipal solid waste, with 60% biodegradable content and high moisture levels, is technically unsuitable for incineration.

The alliance criticized the CPCB’s consultation process for the Blue category reclassification, stating that over 75% of participants represented industry while less than 1% came from environmental or waste worker organizations. NACEJ said this imbalance reflected “the growing influence of industry lobbying” in shaping environmental policy.

The organization called for five urgent measures: revoking the October 2025 EC exemption, restoring the “Red” classification for WTE, ending all subsidies and renewable energy status for these plants, commissioning independent public studies on their impacts, and prioritizing circular economy solutions such as source segregation, decentralized composting, recycling, and reduction of single-use plastics.

“We call on the MoEFCC, CPCB, and the Parliament of India to heed science, communities, and the precautionary principle. Waste management must serve people and the planet, not polluters and profiteers,” NACEJ stated.

The statement, endorsed by more than two dozen members including Medha Patkar, Soumya Dutta, Bhanumathi Kalluri, and Dr. Babu Rao, urged citizens to join the campaign by signing petitions and amplifying awareness through social media under hashtags like #NoBlueWTE and #RevokeECExemption.

NACEJ described itself as a nationwide network of movement activists, ecologists, climate scientists, and environmental researchers working for climate justice and the coexistence of all species.