Sustainable solid waste management and sanitation are pressing issues of concern in rural areas of the Indian Himalaya. In the last decade, economic development, urbanization, population growth, and a rapid escalation in mass tourism have placed enormous pressures on sensitive mountain landscapes, contributing to an increase in waste. As consumption patterns change, so too does the production of waste. Safe disposal through appropriate solid waste management is increasingly becoming a major problem faced by rural Himalayan communities such as Kinnaur District. The problem is even greater in areas with tourist influx as is occurring in Kinnaur. Due to its remoteness, mountain topography, and vulnerability to natural disasters and hazards, solid waste management is especially complex and challenging. For these reasons, Kinnaur District is devoid of a proper solid waste management facility. Existing facilities in Kinnaur are inadequate in terms of waste collection, transportation, treatment, and disposal.

Currently, local communities dispose of their waste by either open burning or dumping—usually in waterways or on the sides of cliffs and gorges. Open burning emits toxic pollutants and produces black carbon, which has been linked to the melting of glaciers (Mingle, 2015). Toxic fumes emitted from burning garbage is hazardous for humans and animal health. These fumes are particularly harmful to children and pregnant women. Dumping unsegregated waste pollutes surface and ground waterways, gorges, and forests. The waste is carried out by rivers downstream. The Himalayan mountains are the headwaters of many of the large rivers in Asia.  Waste is dumped into waterways where it is carried downstream to larger rivers and ultimately contaminating the oceans. Waste that is disposed of on land is not only visually unappealing (and will eventually repel tourists) but also attracts rodents and carrion, which can spread disease. To reduce this contamination, it is necessary to mitigate the open dumping of waste. But achieving this goal requires awareness raising about the impacts of continuing waste disposal in this manner and providing local communities tools with which to ameliorate this problem.

Sustainable solid waste management and sanitation are issues of collective behavioral change. Until it is treated as a community issue, sustainable outcomes will be unreachable. Mere government funding of infrastructure and slogans will not solve the problem. The attempt has to create a band of passionate SWM leaders and guides who are willing to ignite and sustain the spark to make safe SWM and sanitation a reality in their communities.