‘We are sitting on a plastic time bomb’

Pollution Control Board Says Metros Produce 2,000 Tonnes Of Plastic Waste Daily

Dhananjay Mahapatra TNN

New Delhi: “We are sitting on a plastic time bomb,” the Supreme Court said on Wednesday after the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) informed that India generates 56 lakh tonnes of plastic waste annually with Delhi accounting for a staggering 689.52 tonnes a day.
    “Total plastic waste which is collected and recycled in the country is estimated to be 9,205 tonnes per day (approximately 60% of total plastic waste) and 6,137 tonnes remain uncollected and littered,” CPCB told the court.
    The four metros are major culprits in plastic waste generation with Delhi producing 689.52 tonnes a day, followed by Chennai (429.39 tonnes), Kolkata (425.72 tonnes) and Mumbai (408.27 tonnes). The figures only serve to confirm the common sight of waste littering industrial, residential and slum areas of Indian cities and towns.
    A shocked court asked civic authorities of five cities – Delhi, Agra, Jaipur, Faridabad and Bangalore – to submit reports on steps taken under relevant rules to contain dumping of plastic waste and implementing the ban on gutka.
    As 40% of plastic waste is not recycled, the daily addition to untreated plastic in Delhi is estimated at 275.6 tonnes, followed by Chennai (171.6 tonnes), Kolkata (170 tonnes) and Mumbai (163.2 tonnes). This waste is a source of continuing pollution as plastic is not bio-degradable and poisons the environment for decades. CPCB said a survey conducted in 60 major cities found 15,342.46 tonnes of plastic waste was generated every day amounting to 56 lakh tonnes a year. While ASG Mohan Jain presented a worrying report on plastic waste management, another ASG Indira Jaising painted an equally grim health scenario by informing that the ban on ‘gutka’ and ‘pan masala’ laced with tobacco had not been effective due to manufacturers beating the law while a lethargic state machinery compounded matters.
    Responding to the situation, a bench of Justices G S Singhvi and Kurian Joseph felt non-implementation of law due to abject “failure of governance at the grass-root level” could be countered by adopting a two-pronged strategy for effective implementation of plastic waste management and ban on gutka and pan masala mixed with chewing tobacco and nicotine.
    Taking a cue from CPCB’s survey, it chose Delhi, Bangalore, Agra, Faridabad and Jaipur and asked the commissioners of civic bodies to file affidavits within four weeks detailing steps taken under the Municipal Solid Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2000 and the Plastic Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2011 to dispose the waste in a safe place.