Only Half of Total Plastic Waste Gets Recycled in India

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change in India stated that the country generated around 34.7 lakh tonnes per annum (TPA) of plastic waste during 2019-’20. Out of this, nearly 15.8 lakh TPA were recycled and another 1.67 lakh TPA was co-processed, thus making the total recycled volume to approximately 50%, it said.

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With reference to the 2019-’20 Annual Report published by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), there are 1,419 registered plastic waste processors all over the country. Also, the latest studies conducted by the National Center for Coastal Research indicate that plastic litter collected from beaches range between 40% and 96%, the Minister of State Ashwini Kumar Choubey said.

Meantime, the CPCB Report 2019-’20 stated that the country generates around 3.5 million metric tonnes of plastic waste every year. The country had recently imposed country-wide ban on single-use plastic items with effect from 1^st July, 2022.

As per rough estimates by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), plastic pollution has surged from around 2 million tonnes in 1950 to nearly 348 million tonnes in 2017. Moreover, it is feared to double in capacity by 2040.