Sept. 18, 2024
India as the World Largest Plastic Polluter
Context: A recent study published in the journal Nature has revealed that India is the highest contributor to global plastic pollution accounting for approximately one-fifth of the global plastic waste generated.
Highlights of the Study
• Plastic Waste Generation: India generates approximately 9.3 million tonnes of plastic pollution annually. Out of this, 5.8 million tonnes (mt) are incinerated, while 3.5 million tonnes are released into the environment as debris.
• Global North-South Divide: Global South countries, such as India, often rely on open burning for waste management, while the Global North uses controlled systems, leading to less unmanaged waste.
• Disparity between High and Low Income Countries: High-income countries have higher plastic waste generation rates but are not among the top 90 polluters due to 100% collection coverage and controlled disposal.
• Criticism of Research: The research study overemphasised waste management, neglecting the need to reduce plastic production.
Reasons for High Plastic Pollution in India
• Rapid Population Growth and Urbanization: India's rising population and affluence drive higher consumption and waste generation.
• Inadequate Waste Management Infrastructure: India's waste management infrastructure is insufficient to handle the large volumes of waste.
• Discrepancies in Waste Collection Data: India's official waste collection rate is overstated at 95%, while research suggests the actual rate is around 81%.
• Open Burning of Waste: India burns approximately 5.8 million tons of plastic waste each year.
• Informal Sector Recycling: The unregulated informal recycling sector handles much plastic waste not accounted for in official statistics.
Issues Associated With Mismanaged Plastic Waste in India
• Environmental Degradation & Public Health Concerns:Plastic waste clogs waterways, leading to flooding and marine pollution. It harms marine life, while burning it releases toxic pollutants, worsening air quality. Plastic waste creates breeding grounds for disease vectors, increasing the spread of diseases like dengue and malaria.
• E-commerce and Packaging Waste: Rapid e-commerce growth has led to increased plastic packaging waste, much of which is difficult to recycle and ends up as litter or in landfills.
• Regulatory and Enforcement Challenges: Inconsistent enforcement of plastic waste regulations and issues with the Extended Producer Responsibility system hamper effective waste management.
• Microplastic Pollution in Agriculture: Plastic use in agriculture and inadequate wastewater treatment lead to microplastics accumulating in soil, impacting soil health and food safety.
Regulations Related to Plastic Waste Management in India
• Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016
• Plastic Waste Management (Amendment) Rules, 2018:Applies phasing out of multi-layered plastic (MLP)
• Plastic Waste Management Amendment Rules, 2021: Prohibits specific single-use plastic items by 2022
• Swachh Bharat Mission
• India Plastics Pact
• Project REPLAN
• Un-Plastic Collective
• GoLitter Partnerships Project
Way Forward
• Circular Economy: Promote RRR i.e. reduce, reuse and recyclability in design, set up recovery facilities, incentivize recycled plastics, and mandate recycled content in products.
• Smart Waste Management: Integrate smart technology in waste management with IoT-enabled bins, AI for sorting, and mobile apps for reporting illegal dumping and locating recycling centres.
• Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR): Strengthen EPR by introducing graded fees for difficult-to-recycle plastics, a plastic credit trading system, and extending EPR to the informal sector for better waste picker conditions.
• Awareness Campaigns: Launch national campaigns in multiple languages, integrate plastic waste education in schools, conduct community workshops, and use influencers to promote plastic-free lifestyles. Establish a national innovation challenge for youth involvement.
• Waste-to-Energy: Invest in advanced waste-to-energy technologies like pyrolysis and gasification for non-recyclable plastics. Ensure strict emissions controls and use generated energy to power waste management facilities.
• Green Procurement: Apply plastic waste reduction criteria in government procurement and use government buildings as models.