Over 377 million urban people generate 60 million tonnes of municipal solid waste per annum in India. Adding to the woe is the explosion of technology devices, which have resulted the recent spike in the pile of solid waste.
Municipal authorities that provide solid waste management services are largely found to deposit the waste chaotically at landfill sites in and around major cities. By and large, the waste management in cities has so far been in an awful state.
The major hurdle in waste handling in India is segregation of waste at source point attributed to low awareness level among people. India’s waste management market is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.1 per cent through 2025 reaching US$ 13 billion.
According to a report published by ASSOCHAM, the waste generating segments including municipal waste, bio-waste and e-waste are projected to register a compound annual growth rate of about 7.1 per cent, 8.1 per cent and 10 per cent, respectively. Categorically, there are four types of waste processed in India including solid, liquid, recyclable and hazardous.
Until a few years ago, waste management was limited to collection transportation and dumping. The entry of SMEs has professionalized the waste handling and turning into useful products and harmless by-products.
Currently, SMEs in India are handling a range of sectors for collection and treatment of biomedical and hazardous wastes, municipal waste, industrial waste, plastic recycling and informal waste.
The government under the Swachh Bharat Mission and AMRUT (Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation) schemes offers financial support to build a waste-management facility, which includes subsidies up to 30 per cent.
However, the need of the hour is judicious allotment of financial resources to the right projects and technology. A broad vision on policy making to handle the burgeoning problem of waste management needs a war footing.
Reference- ASSOCHAM Report,