Urban India is now the world’s third largest garbage generator. But the amount of waste generated is not as much of an issue as the fact that over 45 million tonnes (or 3 million trucks worth) of garbage is untreated and disposed of by municipal authorities each year in an unhygienic manner.
62,000,000 or roughly 0.1698 million tonnes per day
Did you know? While Maharashtra tops the list of states with highest solid waste generation per day (26,820 tonnes), Delhi records the largest per capita waste generation every day (501.4 g)
The report said that cities like Pune, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Agra, Bengaluru, Bhopal, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kanpur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Nagpur and Surat, among others, have an estimated waste generation of more than 500 tonne per day. Mumbai alone generates 9,000 tonnes of trash daily.Did you know? Each year, around 10 million tonnes of garbage is generated in metropolitan cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Kolkata. Out of the total municipal waste collected, 94 per cent is dumped on land and only five per cent is composted.
☛ Data source: Not in my Backyard, CSE, 2016
☛ Data source: Assessment and quantification of plastics waste generation in major cities, 2015, CPCB
Waste Gap (Metric Tonnes/Day)
Of the total Municipal Solid Waste generated in India daily, only 117,645 tonnes per day was collected (which is 83 per cent). But of the total collection, only 33, 665 tonnes per day or 29 per cent of the total solid waste was treated. It is alarming when considered the estimated annual increase in overall quantity of solid waste in Indian cities will be five per cent per annum.
Did you know? In India, around 3 million trucks worth of garbage is untreated and disposed of by municipal authorities everyday in an unhygienic manner
✎ move mouse over the bars to know detail
Only 68 per cent of the garbage generated in the country is collected, of which 28 per cent is treated by the municipal authorities. Thus, the poor collection and treatment of waste leads to dumped garbage on streets clearly showing up the poor and inefficient system available to tackle waste management in urban areas. The total waste generation is projected to be 165 million tonnes by 2031 and 436 million tonnes by 2050, according to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
Did you know? By 2025, 1.4 billion people will be living in cities and each inhabitant of every city will generate around 1.42 kg of trash a day
Global Scenario
Around the world, waste generation rates are rising. In 2012, cities around the world generated 1.3 billion tonnes of solid waste per year, amounting to a footprint of 1.2 kilograms per person per day. With rapid population growth and urbanisation, municipal waste generation is expected to rise to 2.2 billion tonnes by 2025.
Municipal Solid Waste Generation by Country — Current Data and Projections for 2025*
(mouse move over countries to see details)
Compared to those in developed nations, residents in developing countries, especially the urban poor, are more severely impacted by unsustainably managed waste. In low and middle-income countries, waste is often disposed in unregulated dumps or openly burned. These practices create serious health, safety, and environmental consequences. Poorly managed waste serves as a breeding ground for disease vectors, contributes to global climate change through methane generation, and even promotes urban violence.
Conclusion
If this issue is not tackled efficiently and better policies and practices for waste management are not adopted, the total waste generation is projected to be 165 million tonnes by 2031 and 436 million tonnes by 2050.
In the Sunita Narain’s words, “We know that we have a serious garbage problem. But the problem is not about finding the right technology for waste disposal. The problem is how to integrate the technology with a system of household-level segregation so that waste does not end up in landfills, but is processed and reused.”
Data source:
✿ Not in my Backyard, CSE, 2016
✿ Swachhta Status Report 2016, NSSO
✿ Assessment and quantification of plastics waste generation in major cities, 2015, CPCB
✿ Report of the Task Force on Waste to Energy (Volume I), In the context of Integrated MSW Management,
Planning Commission, 2014
✿ What a Waste : A Global Review of Solid Waste Management, World Bank
- See more at: http://www.downtoearth.org.in/dte-infographics/clean_your_backyard-57790.html#sthash.PWqVg9T0.dpuf
May 19, 2017 at 4:27 pm
The huge amount of garbage should be properly disposed and waste treatment plants should be established in every city. The government should ensure clean environment in cities