Waste compliance glossary for India

Bulk waste generator (BWG)

An organisation in a listed category (for example hotels, hospitals, malls, schools, residential societies) that meets any one of three tests under Rule 3(1)(i) of the SWM Rules, 2026: a building floor area of 20,000 sq.m. or more, water consumption of 40,000 litres a day, or solid waste generation of 100 kg a day. Are you a bulk waste generator?

EBWGR

Extended Bulk Waste Generator Responsibility. Bulk waste generators buy certificates, measured in kilograms and issued only by the local body, to show their waste was collected and sent to registered processors or recyclers. Valid for three years. EBWGR explained

Wet waste

Kitchen, food, vegetable, fruit, meat and flower waste (Rule 3(1)(zzl)).

Dry waste

Everything other than wet, sanitary and special care waste, whether recyclable or not (Rule 3(1)(s)).

Sanitary waste

Items such as diapers, sanitary napkins, tampons and condoms, which must be wrapped securely and kept separate (Rules 3(1)(zp) and 5(1)(c)).

Special care waste

Household-level hazardous items such as paint drums, pesticide containers, CFLs and tube lights, expired medicines, broken mercury thermometers, batteries, used needles and syringes, and contaminated gauze (Rule 3(1)(zx)).

Rule 5(1)

The duties of every waste generator under the SWM Rules, 2026: segregate into four streams, wrap sanitary waste securely, never burn, dump or bury waste, and pay user fees. SWM Rules 2026 by organisation type

Rule 5(2)

Extra duties for all RWAs, market associations, hotels and restaurants, and gated communities and institutions above 5,000 sq.m.: facilitate separate collection, hand recyclables to authorised waste pickers or recyclers, and process wet waste on site as far as possible.

Annual return

The return a bulk waste generator files on the CPCB portal by 30 June every year (Rules 6(h) and 20(1)). The annual return, step by step

Environmental Compensation

A charge levied on the polluter pays principle by the State Pollution Control Board or Pollution Control Committee under Rule 17 of the SWM Rules, 2026, for example for activities without the required registration, false information or manipulated documents.

ULB (urban local body)

The municipal body for a city or town: a municipal corporation, municipality or nagar panchayat. Under the SWM Rules it registers bulk waste generators, issues EBWGR certificates, notifies certificate prices and spot fines, and surveys bulk waste generators each year.

CPCB

The Central Pollution Control Board. It runs the centralised portal (swm.cpcb.gov.in) on which bulk waste generators register, EBWGR certificates are issued and annual returns are filed.

SPCB / PCC

The State Pollution Control Board, or Pollution Control Committee in a Union Territory. It issues consents under the Water and Air Acts and levies Environmental Compensation under the SWM Rules.

MoEFCC

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, which notified the SWM Rules, 2026.

Gazette S.O. 388(E)

The notification number of the SWM Rules, 2026: dated 27 January 2026, published in the Gazette of India on 28 January 2026, in force from 1 April 2026.

RWA

Resident welfare association: the body that manages a housing society or colony. Named in Rule 5(2) whatever its size. SWM Rules 2026 for housing societies

Gated community

A residential or mixed development with controlled entry. Rule 5(2) covers gated communities with more than 5,000 sq.m. of area.

MRF / MRC

Material recovery facility, or material recovery centre: a site where dry waste is sorted, baled and sent on to recyclers.

Registered partner

A collector, transporter, recycler or processor with the registration the rules require. A bulk waste generator may not engage any entity that lacks it (Rule 6(g)).

Bio-medical waste

Waste from health care under the Bio-Medical Waste Management Rules, 2016. It is outside the SWM Rules, 2026, but a bulk waste generator’s annual return must state the bio-medical waste it generated and handed to an authorised facility.

C&D waste

Construction and demolition waste. Every generator must store it separately under Rule 5(1), and it has its own rules.

CTE / CTO

Consent to Establish and Consent to Operate: the State Pollution Control Board’s permissions under the Water and Air Acts for setting up and running a facility that discharges effluent or emissions.

CGWA

The Central Ground Water Authority, which regulates groundwater extraction and issues no-objection certificates.

EPR

Extended producer responsibility: making producers responsible for the waste their products become, as in the plastic, e-waste and battery rules. EBWGR applies the same idea to bulk waste generators.

User fee

The fee a generator pays the local body or its agency for waste services, as notified by the local body (Rule 5(1)(h)).

This is EarthReheal's plain-language summary, reviewed October 2026, for general information. It is not legal advice. Read the notified text and confirm with your local body, State Pollution Control Board or a qualified adviser before relying on it. EarthReheal is not a government body and does not file on the CPCB portal for you.