SWM Rules 2026 for MRFs: registration, reports and duties

Every entity that sorts waste into recyclable and non-recyclable fractions at a material recovery facility must be registered with the local body, must send what it sorts only to registered processing or recycling entities, and must report to the local body through the online portal every quarter, by the 15th of the first month of the next quarter (Rules 9(1), 9(3) and 9(4) of the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2026). It must not deal with any entity that lacks the registration the rules require (Rule 9(5)).

Rule 9 is the only rule whose duties are addressed specifically to the entity sorting waste at a material recovery facility; Rules 11(3) and 39(44) add reporting duties. Rule 9 is short, but it connects the facility to the local body's collection system on one side and to registered processors and recyclers on the other, and the quarterly report places the facility's figures on the same portal as those of its partners.

What counts as a material recovery facility

The rules define a material recovery facility as "a facility where solid waste other than wet waste and horticulture waste , can be temporarily stored by the local body or any entity authorised by local body to facilitate segregation and sorting of collected waste including biodegradable plastic as well as compostable plastic , and transfer of recyclables and non recyclables to authorised recyclers or waste processors from various components of waste" (Rule 3(1)(ze)).

Three points follow from that definition.

• Wet and horticulture waste are excluded. The definition covers solid waste other than wet waste and horticulture waste. Rule 9(1) speaks of sorting "preferably from dry waste", and a registered facility may also act as a deposition centre for special care and sanitary waste (Rule 9(7)(ii)).
• The operator is the local body or an entity it authorises. A privately run facility therefore works under an arrangement with the local body, not independently of it.
• The output is a transfer. The facility stores, segregates and sorts, and then hands recyclables and non-recyclables onward. Where it also processes material, for example into refuse-derived fuel, further duties apply (see below).

The duties in Rule 9

Rule 9(4) is the facility's principal recurring filing. Rule 9 does not itself prescribe a separate annual return for a material recovery facility. Rule 39(44), placed among the duties of urban local bodies, also requires all material recovery facilities to "reflect the waste received, availability and transportation of segregated waste to recyclers or end of life disposal entities including incinerators, and sanitary landfill sites on the centralised online portal on monthly basis". A facility should agree with its local body who enters that monthly data and on what basis. Our annual returns briefing sets out every filing deadline under the rules.

Relationship with the local body

A material recovery facility sits inside the local body's collection system. The rules link the two in several places.

• Inflow. The local body, or its concessionaire or authorised third party, must ensure transportation of "dry waste to registered Material Recovery Facility or processing facility" (Rule 8(f)).
• Cost of service. The local body determines the cost of service provided by the facility, and the cost of the collected waste for the additional services in Rule 9(7), following its own procedure (Rule 9(8)).
• Establishment. Urban local bodies are to establish material recovery facilities based on quantum of waste generation, on their own or in public-private partnership mode, and to upload and update this on the portal by 30 June every year (Rule 39(43)). The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs is to coordinate with State Governments and Union territory administrations to set up material recovery facilities in all cities as per the timelines in Schedule I (Rule 23(xvi)).
• Portal record. The centralised portal is to reflect "the details of the solid waste received, sorted and sent to processors and to Sanitary Landfill Facility or operational landfills" (Rule 16(6)).

EBWGR certificates and the facility's own receipts

Bulk waste generators fulfil Extended Bulk Waste Generator Responsibility (EBWGR) through certificates measured in kilograms (Rule 10(3)). Only the local body is mandated to generate EBWGR certificates on the centralised online portal (Rule 10(1)). Rule 8(d) also places a duty to generate them on a concessionaire or third party the local body authorises for collection, segregation and transport; the rules do not say how the two provisions fit together. A facility should confirm with its local body whether it holds such an authorisation.

A material recovery facility's own receipt, weighment slip or processing certificate is not an EBWGR certificate unless it is generated on the portal under such a local-body authorisation. Facilities that give generators a receipt should say so on the document. Our EBWGR certificates briefing explains how certificates are generated, valued and used.

Optional services under Rule 9(7)

A registered facility "may provide the following services, where possible" for channelling waste streams that carry extended producer responsibility under separate rules (Rule 9(7)):

• act as an uptake point for plastic waste processors, processors of other waste such as e-waste, and producers, importers, brand owners or obligated entities with extended producer responsibility;
• act as a deposition centre for e-waste, special care waste, sanitary waste or other waste covered by separate rules; and
• act as a drop-off or deposition centre promoting reduce, reuse and recycle.

These services are permissive, not mandatory. A facility that takes them on should check what registration the separate rules require of it. Acting as an uptake point does not by itself make the facility a registered plastic waste processor; see our plastic waste processor reference.

Rejects, refuse-derived fuel and landfill

• High calorific rejects. "Non-recyclable waste having calorific value of 1500 Kcal/kg or more shall not be disposed of on landfills" and is to be used for energy recovery, directly or through refuse-derived fuel (Rule 13(1)).
• What a landfill may accept. Only non-usable, non-recyclable, non-biodegradable, non-combustible and non-energy recoverable dry waste, inert waste, pre-processing rejects and residues may go to a sanitary landfill (Rule 14(4)). The facility's reject stream should be characterised with that in mind.
• Combined facilities. "All Refuse-Derived Fuel plants and Material Recovery Facility cum Refuse-Derived Fuel plants shall register and report availability of Refuse-Derived Fuel along with quality report" on the portal on a monthly basis (Rule 11(3)). RDF plants must also report availability and off-take of RDF in real time on the portal (Rule 11(4)).

The facility as a waste generator

A material recovery facility also generates waste of its own, from offices, canteens and worker facilities. For that waste it is a waste generator under Rule 5(1) and must segregate into the four streams: wet, dry, sanitary and special care waste (Rule 5(1)(b)). Whether it is also a bulk waste generator depends on the tests in Rule 3(1)(i), which refer to floor area, water consumption and "solid waste generation". The rules do not say how waste received for sorting is treated against the waste test; a facility near any threshold should confirm the position with its local body. Our bulk waste generator guide sets out the tests.

Waste that falls under other rules

The SWM Rules 2026 do not cover industrial waste, hazardous waste, hazardous chemicals, bio-medical waste, e-waste, battery waste or radioactive waste (Rule 2). For a material recovery facility, that typically means:

• Hazardous waste generated by the facility's own activities must be managed under the hazardous waste rules (Rule 9(2)(b)). Hazardous items arriving in dry waste are outside the SWM Rules (Rule 2) and should be routed under the same rules.
• Electronics received or deposited: the e-waste rules.
• Batteries: the battery waste rules.

Plastic waste is not excluded by Rule 2 and remains part of the dry waste the facility sorts. Where sorted plastic is channelled to processors or to obligated entities, the extended producer responsibility framework under the plastic waste rules may also apply; see our plastic waste rules reference.

Environmental compensation

Environmental compensation may be levied, on the polluter pays principle, on persons not complying with the provisions of the rules. The listed activities include operating "without registration as mandated under these rules", registered entities providing false information or concealing material facts or submitting forged or manipulated documents, and entities engaged in collection, segregation, sorting, transportation, processing and disposal of solid waste (Rule 17(1)). The guidelines for imposing it are to be prepared under Rule 17(2), it is levied by the State Pollution Control Board or Pollution Control Committee (Rule 17(3)), and action under section 15 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 may also be taken (Rule 17(5)).

A practical checklist

• Confirm the facility's registration with the local body, and the authorisation under which it operates.
• Weigh and record every inflow, sorted fraction and outflow, so that the quarterly report can be compiled from records rather than estimates.
• Keep the registration of every processor, recycler and transporter on file, and check it before each dispatch.
• Diary the quarterly report for the 15th of the first month of each quarter.
• Agree with the local body who enters the monthly portal data under Rule 39(44).
• Characterise rejects: route high calorific fractions to energy recovery and send only permitted material to landfill.
• Keep hazardous items, e-waste and batteries out of the dry sorting line and record their onward route.
• Record the training of personnel and the issue of protective equipment.
• Mark the facility's own receipts as receipts, not EBWGR certificates.

How EarthReheal WasteLedger supports material recovery facilities

The EarthReheal WasteLedger material recovery facility pack covers SWM alongside other rules that can apply to material recovery facilities, including hazardous waste, e-waste and battery collection, plastic waste processor registration, fire safety and factory safety. Setup questions about the premises switch the relevant rules and checks on or off, including the three levels of SWM obligation for the facility's own waste. Each check is assigned to the responsible member of staff, and photographs taken in the app carry the device capture time and location.

Handovers are recorded against the receiving partner, and each partner's registration and licence expiry are tracked. The operator can issue a waste receipt and processing certificate for each generator, stating that it is not an EBWGR certificate. Where the operator holds a local-body authorisation, it can record the portal-generated EBWGR certificate and hand it to the generator. Where an annual return applies, it is linked to the daily records, with reminders 90, 30 and 7 days before the deadline.

To see which rules apply to your facility, take the free compliance check for material recovery facilities, or see the material recovery facility compliance pack. For a walkthrough, book a demo.

This briefing is general information, not legal advice. Rule references are to the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2026 (S.O. 388(E)) as published in the Gazette of India on 28 January 2026. For the full text of each obligation, see the SWM Rules 2026 rule reference and our material recovery facility reference.