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Status of implementation of Plastic Waste Management (PWM)

It is worth to mention that usage of plastic packaging’s and products has increased multi-fold in the last one decade due to its low price and convenience, however, general public is not aware about its impact on the human and environment on littering or dumping. In India, approximately 12 Million tonnes plastic products are consumed every year (2012), which is expected to rise further. It is also known that about 50-60% of its consumption is converted into waste. Main usage of plastics is in the form of carry bags, packaging films, wrapping materials, fluid containers, clothing, toys, household applications, industrial products, engineering applications, building materials etc. It is true that conventional (petro-based) plastic waste is non-biodegradable and remains on landscape for several years polluting environment ethics because life cycle of plastic waste is incomplete and ultimately it is dumped on the land-fill sites. It is also well established that all types of plastics waste can’t be recycled, therefore, it accumulated into open drains, low-lying areas, river banks, coastal areas, sea-beaches etc.Further, recycling of a virgin plastic product can be done 3-4 times only that too mixing with virgin plastics granules, therefore, after every recycling its tensile strength and quality plastic product deteriorate. Besides, recycled plastic are more harmful to the health and environment than the virgin products due to mixing of colour, additives, stabilizers, flame retardants etc. It would be worth to mention that no authentic data is available on generation of plastic waste in the country. Looking seriousness of plastics waste disposal, CPCB has carried out a study in collaboration with CIPET, Ahmedabad on “Quantification and Characterisation of Plastic waste generation in 60 Major Cities (2010-12)”in the country. It is reported that approximately, 3501 TPD of plastic waste (PW) is generated in these cities. The percentage of plastic waste present in the Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) is ranging from 3.10% (Chandigarh) to 12.47% (Surat).

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