Environmental issues homepage www.toxicslink.org Waste: Really? No ado about much. A factfile on Waste from Toxics Link. May 2002: Waste or Resource? Facts at a glance About 0.1 million tonnes of municipal solid waste is generated in India every day. That is approximately 36.5 million tonnes annually. Per capita waste generation in major Indian cities ranges from 0.2 Kg to 0.6 Kg. Difference in per capita waste generation between lower and higher income groups range between 180 to 800 gm per day. The urban local bodies spend approximately Rs.500 to Rs.1500 per tonne on solid waste for collection, transportation, treatment and disposal. About 60-70% of this amount is spent on collection, 20-30% on transportation and less than 5% on final disposal. Calorific value of Indian solid waste is between 600 and 800 Kcal/Kg and the density of waste is between 330 and 560 Kg/m3. Waste collection efficiency in Indian cities ranges from 50% to 90%. Out of the total municipal waste collected, on an average 94% is dumped on land and 5% is composted. Contact Toxics Link Delhi H-2 Jungpura Extension New Delhi 110 014 Tel: 4328006/4320711 Fax: 4321747 e-mail: tldelhi@vsnl.com www.toxicslink.org Between 2000 and 2025 the waste composition of Indian garbage will undergo the following changes: Organic Waste will go up from 40 percent to 60 percent Plastic will rise from 4% to 6% Metal will escalate from 1% to 4% Glass will increase from 2% to 3% Paper will climb from 5% to 15% Others (ash, sand, grit) will decrease from 47% to 12% Toxics Link May 2002 References: Status of Municipal Solid Waste: Generation Collection Treatment and Disposal in Class I cities, CPCB April 2000. Manual on Municipal Solid Waste Management (first edition). Prepared by The Expert Committee constituted by the Ministry of Urban Development, The Government of India. January 2000. Urban Waste: Status, trends and interventions. Ravi Agarwal, Srishti, January 2001. Personal Communication with Dr AK Tripathy, Ministry of Non-conventional Sources. This factfile on waste is made available on India Together by arrangement with Toxics Link, New Delhi. Related: Solid Waste Management - Nagara Nyrmalya Related: Environmental issues on India Together Feedback: Tell us what you think of this page.