New Delhi, Aug. 7 -- India's cement industry could replace a much larger share of coal and petcoke with waste-derived fuel, but inadequate processing infrastructure, limited plant-level acceptance and uncertain pricing have kept adoption low, Fahim Sopariwala, chief executive of Green Gene Enviro Protection and Infrastructure Ltd (GGEPIL), said at the Mint Sustainability Summit & Awards 2026.

India generates about 70 million tonnes of municipal solid waste and 18.5 million tonnes of industrial hazardous waste, while about 3.5 million tonnes of industrial material requires landfilling, Sopariwala said. Conventional waste management relies on landfills and incineration, but co-processing offers an alternative by using pre-processed waste a...