UNGA High-Level Meeting on Zero Waste as a Transformative Solution

in achieving the SDGs

[Thursday, 30 March 2023]

Statement by Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj

Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations

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Thank you, Mr. President.

India welcomes the convening of today’s High Level meeting on Zero Waste as a transformative solution in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. We thank the delegation of Turkiye in spearheading this important initiative.

And in commemorating today the first International Day of Zero Waste, we do believe that this is a fitting reminder of our commitment as Member States to address the challenges of environmental sustainability.

Mr. President,

I will make two quick points, drawing your attention to transformative action that is being taken in India. One, work on waste management is being done in mission mode under the Swachh Bharat or Clean India Mission which was launched in 2014. The Mission, in essence, was to ensure access to safe sanitation and improve the institutional capacity for scientific waste management. Along with the commitment of resources, there was a nationwide mass behavioural change campaign from the grassroots level upwards, and this continues to this day. Cleanliness is not a one-off measure, but a consistent action-oriented outlook about life.

In the past eight years, India has quadrupled its waste processing capacity in cities and moved to 75% from 14% in 2014. About 35% of India’s population lives in 4,800 cities and the country has about 100,000 MT of waste processing capacity per day.

With an aim to promote scientific management of solid waste, India organizes an annual ‘Swachh Survekshan’, the largest urban cleanliness survey in the world. Each city is given 1, 3, 5, or 7 star cleanliness rating by independent agencies. Over the years, ‘Swachh Survekshan’ has emerged as an effective tool for transforming the urban landscape, by not only fostering a spirit of healthy competition among cities towards cleanliness, but by also drawing in the resources for further development.

The collective participation and efforts of the citizens of my country has been a key ingredient to the success of the Clean India Mission. Today, we call this Mission a ‘people’s movement’, a true ‘Jan Andolan’.

Two, Mission LiFE - at COP 26, India introduced the concept of LiFE or a “Lifestyle for the Environment”. This concept was translated into an action agenda with the launch of “Mission LiFE” by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and Prime Minister Modi in October 2022. The initiative is aimed at encouraging people to pick pro-planet sustainable choices in their daily lives, to live sustainably and reduce our environmental footprint, and is driven by the concept of ‘Reduce, Reuse and Recycle’, bringing a fresh and much-needed perspective that aligns the development and climate agendas. Zero waste is an indelible part of the LiFE initiative.

Today, thousands of citizens from more than 2,000 Indian cities led by women are rallying for garbage free cities, organizing Zero Waste events and pledging their commitment for the LiFE movement. “The need of the hour is human-centric collective efforts and robust actions that further sustainable development.”

I will conclude, Mr. President, by stating that India is fully committed, and is proactively working towards the implementation of Agenda 2030. Importantly, these commitments have translated into practical and sustainable actions at the local level. Zero waste will continue to be one of them.

Thank you!