Landfill Biomining of Legacy Waste Dumpsites in India: Process, Challenges and Future Perspective

India faces a pressing issue with the ever-increasing amount of municipal solid waste (MSW) due to inadequate waste management practices. After decades of uncontrolled and continuous dumping, the existing dumpsites have transformed into mountains of legacy waste. Recognizing the urgency to address this concern, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) of India and the operational rules of the Swachh Bharat Mission 2.0 (SBM 2.0) made it necessary to dismantle legacy waste dumpsites through Landfill Biomining (LFBM). This book chapter provides an overview of the current status of legacy waste dumpsite management in India and the workflow process of LFBM operation and also points out multiple challenges that need to be overcome for sound implementation of LFBM. The study reveals that in the coming years, LFBM, as a reclamation approach to legacy waste dumpsites, will take off across the country with funding from SBM 2.0. However, a comprehensive policy direction for the utilization of reclaimed land and recovered fractions after LFBM is still lacking. There is an obvious need for cooperation between the government, industries and academia to create a circular economy–based economic model for legacy waste dumpsites management in India.