Recyclable waste from Indian cities may generate Rs 30k cr annually: Report

NEW DELHI: A report on solid and liquid waste in municipalities of India was released by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, Government of India. The report titled ‘Circular Economy in Municipal Solid and Liquid Waste’ has been prepared by experts from Indian Institutes of Technology, reputed research institutes, and government entities. It highlighted how a large share of municipal waste can be prevented from getting dumped at landfills by recycling them.

The report has been released at a time when Indian cities are struggling to get rid of hulking municipal wastes and finding new landfill sites. Moreover, issue of large chunk of untreated and unprocessed municipal wastes going to dump yards and water bodies has emerged as a major crisis in India due to rise in urbanisation in absence of proper planning.

Currently, India generates around 1.45 lakh tonnes of solid waste daily, 35 per cent of which is dry waste and a major share of the dry waste is plastic. The report noted that around 26,000 tonnes of plastic waste is generated daily in India, out of which only 15,600 tonnes is recycled, and over 9,000 tonnes of it remains uncollected and is dumped to the landfills and water bodies.

The report stated that proper treatment of municipal solid, wet and construction wastes can generate nearly Rs 30,000 crore worth revenue every year and can create employment opportunities for more than one crore people by 2025. It estimated that material recycling facilities across the municipalities in the nation can help improve current revenue from the dry municipal waste of Rs 5,187 crore per annum to Rs 17,023 crore by 2025. These can also generate employment for 40 lakh man-days during construction and additional 80 lakh man-days in perpetuity for operations and maintenance for these facilities.

The report recommended that government bodies mandate the use of 25 per cent recycled materials in the non-food grade packaging to ensure uptake of recycled materials and to mandate the cement kilns to use 25 per cent non-recyclable combustible dry waste replacing coal.

On the front of wet waste, Indian municipalities generate nearly 75,000 tonnes of wet waste, out of which 32 per cent goes untreated. The report estimated that the wet waste processing through bio-methanation can yield additional benefits, like Rs 2460 crores per annum can be yielded in revenues if 50 per cent of wet waste is processed by this method in urban areas. It added that this can generate about one crore man-days during construction of treatment plants and about 60 lakh man-days for operation and maintenance of these facilities in perpetuity.

The report noted that around 120 lakh tonnes of construction and demolition waste is generated annually, out of which 95 per cent can be reused or recycled if processed scientifically. It said that disposing of recyclables in landfills/dump sites not only leads to loss of valued resources but also causes environment pollution. The report recommended setting up of at least one collection point for a coverage area of 5 sq km with population of 25,000. It also suggested that GST for products made from waste should be reduced from 18 to 5 per cent.