25K tonnes of plastic waste generated everyday in India

India produces more than 25,000 tonnes of plastic waste daily, nearly 40% of which is not collected and litter the environment, Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar informed the Lok Sabha on Monday.

Quoting a study conducted by the Central Pollution Control Board in 60 Indian cities, he said it had been estimated that around 4,059 tonnes of plastic waste is generated from these cities every day.

Extrapolating the data to the entire country, it is also estimated that around 25,940 tonnes of plastic waste is generated in India every day. But only 15,384 tonnes is collected and recycled by 4,773 registered recycling units.

The remaining 10,556 tonnes of the plastic waste, which is estimated to be approximately 40% of the waste, remains uncollected and litter the environment," Javadekar said in the Lok Sabha responding to a query.

Replying to another question on green alternatives, he said due to its cheap cost, finding an alternative was a “challenging task” and its use has increased significantly because of the growth in the fast-moving consumer goods sector.

An expert group has now been constituted by Central Institute of Plastics Engineering and Technology, Chennai to find out biodegradable technologies on plastic as the government aims to get rid of single use plastic by 2022.