Does Waste Matter? The Critical Importance of Waste Management: A Case Study of South Asia

Waste management plays a critical role in environmental protection and sustainable development. In South Asia, rapid demographic and economic growth have exacerbated systemic waste-related challenges. Therefore, it is necessary to examine the responses of South Asian countries to waste management challenges through historical cases, analyzing the current status of waste management, experiences with sustainable waste management, and policies for effective waste management in these countries. This chapter explores the recent situation, solutions, and possible impacts after case studies and reviews of waste management practices in eight South Asian countries; meanwhile, it identifies key barriers, including low 22 public awareness stemming from insufficient governmental outreach, poor working conditions, and the lack of formal recognition and protections for workers in the informal sector. Building on the regional discourse of sustainable waste management and resource recovery, it offers strategic recommendations from four interrelated perspectives—environmental awareness, technological adoption, government engagement, and regional and global cooperation—underscoring their collective importance in advancing sustainable development across South Asia. Ultimately, by offering context-specific insights into South Asia’s waste governance landscape, this chapter contributes a regionally grounded yet globally relevant perspective to the evolving discourse on sustainable waste systems in the Global South.