India’s circular economy can’t succeed on tech and policy alone—it must drive deep behavioural change and shift social norms around waste.India presents a fascinating paradox in waste management. While the country has deep-rooted traditions of reuse, repair, and recycling—embedded in practices such as the ubiquitous kabadiwala system—and a cultural ethos of frugality, a prevailing ‘out of sight, out of mind’ mentality treats waste as someone else’s responsibility.