Ladakh Treats All Its Daily Waste—But Can It Keep Up?

Ladakh treated 100 percent of the solid waste it generated in 2023–24, according to data presented in the Lok Sabha. Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Kirti Vardhan Singh said the Union Territory produced 12.454 tonnes of solid waste per day during the year. The same amount was processed or treated daily.

The figures come from the Ladakh Pollution Control Committee’s annual report, submitted under the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016. In 2022–23, Ladakh generated 11.845 tonnes per day, also fully treated.

Yet behind the numbers lies a growing challenge.

Every summer, hundreds of thousands of tourists, domestic and foreign, visit Ladakh. While tourism boosts local income, it also leads to a spike in garbage. Leh, the region’s main city, bears the brunt of this seasonal burden.

The data reflects a major shift from past practices when waste in Leh, Ladakh’s largest city, was dumped at a site known as Bomb Guard. That changed in 2020 with the launch of the Solid Waste Management Plant at Skampari, La Sermo, India’s first fully solar-powered waste processing plant. The facility runs on a 100 kV solar system and handles up to 30 metric tonnes per day.

Plant manager Tsewang Dorjay said, "All waste is manually sorted into recyclable and non-recyclable materials before being processed. Plastics, bottles, cardboard, and metals are recycled. Non-recyclables are sent to landfills, incinerators, or waste-to-energy plants".

According to the Leh Municipal Committee, 12–13 tonnes of waste are generated each day during the tourist season. In winter, that figure drops to 3–4 tonnes. 

In 2022, Leh saw 4.5 lakh tourists in just eight months, roughly 10 times its population. Migrant workers pushed the temporary population even higher. Much of the resulting waste, especially plastic, comes from tourists. An environment fee is charged only for those entering protected areas, allowing many visitors to skip the payment. Activists say this limits revenue and weakens waste management in Leh itself.

UT administration says it has taken several steps

Despite these efforts, key challenges remain. Composting wet waste is difficult in freezing temperatures. The waste management plant in Skampari, installed in 2020, has a capacity of 30 tonnes per day, but staffing and climate affect its efficiency in winter.

The administration has drafted a policy on solid and plastic waste, but it is not yet in effect. Currently, the burden of waste management largely falls on the Municipal Committee, while the tourism department plays a minimal role.

Fines for littering range from ₹500 to ₹5,000. But local groups argue that better coordination, year-round funding, and grassroots-level policy-making are needed. Activists say tourism cannot be separated from the waste problem, and that both government and visitors must act responsibly.

As Ladakh’s popularity grows, so does its waste. Managing it is not just about treating what’s collected, it's about matching systems, policies, and enforcement to the scale of the problem.

Support usto keep independent environmental journalism alive in India.

Keep Reading

Indore Startup Swaaha takes the lead in making Amarnath Yatra eco-friendly

Amarnath Yatra: Tackling rising death toll from extreme weather events

Amarnath yatra pilgrims urinating in Sindh river: A threat to environment

Amarnath Yatra 2023: IMD operationalizes Banihal Doppler weather radar to detect high-impact weather events

Stay connected with Ground Report for underreported environmental stories.

Follow us onX,Instagram, andFacebook; share your thoughts at [email protected]; subscribe to our weekly newsletter for deep dives from the margins; join ourWhatsApp communityfor real-time updates; and catch our video reports on YouTube.

Your support amplifies voices too often overlooked—thank you for being part of the movement.