New Delhi: About 3.4 million tonnes of plastic waste is generated in India every year, out of which only 30 per cent is recycled. In a span of five years, plastic consumption in the country has increased by 9.7 per cent on an annual basis from 14 million tonnes in FY 2016-17 to 20 million tonnes in FY 2019-20. Marico Innovation Foundation has said this in a report released in the national capital. The report titled ‘Plastic, the potential and possibilities’ states that India’s plastic waste generation also doubled between the said period.
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The report has been prepared in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Science and Praxis Global Alliance. It states that Maharashtra, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu together contribute 38 percent of the total plastic waste generated in India. It has been said in this report that the consumption of plastic in India has increased at a very fast pace in the last five years, and hence its waste has also increased. India generates 3.4 million tonnes of plastic waste in a year, only 30 per cent of it is recycled. The report suggested, ‘Landfill’ and ‘Incineration’ tax should be imposed in India to encourage recycling instead of dumping.
In a report last year, it was told that burning plastic is a common practice in rural India. According to the report, on an average, 67 percent of rural households in India regularly burn plastic waste. This is the garbage which even the scrap dealers do not buy. This information was revealed in the new report ‘Rural Plastic Waste Management Study 2022’ released by the organization Pratham. A total of 700 villages in 70 districts in 15 cities of the country were included in this report. The aim of this study was to understand the status of plastic waste in rural India. According to the findings revealed in this report, most of the villages in the country do not have basic infrastructure for waste management.
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It was told in the report that only 36 percent of the villages in India have a public dustbin system for waste. At the same time, there is no vehicle arrangement for collecting garbage in about 70 percent of the villages, while only 47 percent of the villages have a sweeper. Plastic waste was found near most of the places like general stores, medical stores, clinics, hospitals and eateries in the villages. It is learned that the presence of plastic waste was found near more than 50 establishments studied. Paper, cardboard, and plastic waste such as wrappers, bottles, and cans were commonly seen around them. In such a situation, these single use plastics are creating a big problem in these villages. To deal with this problem, the villagers either burn them or throw them in the open.
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Tags: plastic waste, pollution, pollution research
FIRST PUBLISHED : January 12, 2023, 14:28 IST
