Dr. Gyan Pathak
Global waste generation is faster than we are able to handle. It reached 2.56 billion tonnes in 2022, according to the new World Bank report “What a Waste 3.0” as against projected 2.59 billion tonnes by 2030 by “What a Waste 2.0” of 2018. Under business as usual scenario, global wage generation is expected to grow to 3.86 billion tonnes by 2050. The increase in low income countries is expected to more than double by that time, with the fastest growth projected in Sub-Saharan Africa and in South Asia. India being the most populated country in the world and in South Asia, it has much to worry as to how it is going to handle the situation.
The distribution of waste generation is uneven across country, income groups and regions. High-income countries, while comprising 16 per cent of the global population, generated 29 per cent of the world’s waste in 2022 and had the highest per capital waste generation. Upper middle income countries, accounting for 36 per cent of the population, produced the largest share of global waste at 42 per cent. Lower middle income countries represented about 40 per cent of the population and generated 25 per cent of global waste, whereas low-income countries, with 9 per cent of population, produced 4 per cent of the waste.
As for the waste management, nearly 100 per cent of municipal solid waste in high income countries is managed in controlled facilities, but in low income countries it is just 3 per cent. Landfills remain the most common method of waste management, which account 29 per cent of all waste, followed by material recovery though recycling, compositing, and anaerobic digestion at 21 per cent, and incineration with energy recovery at 20 per cent. The remaining 30 per cent of waste generated is either openly dumped or not collected at all, a challenge which is most acute in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.
Plastic waste is of significant concern. Nearly 29 per cent of all plastic waste – or 93 million tonnes per year – is mismanaged; 13 per cent poorly managed, and 16 per cent remains uncollected.
Global cost of municipal waste management already exceeds US$250 billion annually and is projected to rise to $426 billion by 2050, if existing practices continue. In a business as usual scenario, low and lower middle income countries face substantial investment needs, estimated at $556 billion between 2022 and 2050.
South Asia region generated 346 million tonnes of municipal solid waste in2022, with an average generation rate of 0.49 kilogram per capita per day, lower than the global average of 0.88kilogram per capita per day, and the lowest globally.
Approximately 46 percent of waste in South Asia is organic—food, garden, and wood waste—whereas engineered materials of plastics, paper, glass, and metals make up 36 percent.
An estimated 67 percent of waste, weighted mean, is collected, primarily through door-to-door systems. In urban areas, the medium waste collection coverage is 88 percent, compared to 54 percent in rural areas.
Of the waste generated, 38 percent is disposed of in dumpsites, and 6 percent in controlled landfills. Composting and anaerobic digestion account for 11percent of waste treatment, recycling accounts for another 11 percent, and 3percent is incinerated.
The uncollected waste, which represents one-third of the total generated in the region, is reported to be mainly openly burned.
Informal waste collection is prevalent across South Asia, with informal workers playing a key role alongside formal employees in most countries.
Countries in the region are gradually strengthening their regulatory and institutional structures, including implementing single-use plastic bags and localized waste management policies, although enforcement remains a challenge.
South Asia comprises eight countries with a combined population of approximately1.9 billion in 2022. India, with 1.4 billion people, accounts for 74percent of the region’s population and generates about 58 percent of its municipal solid waste. Most countries are classified as lower-middle-income, except Afghanistan as low-income and the Maldives as upper-middle-income. The region is the most densely populated globally, with 492 people per square kilometre as of 2022, and the least urbanized, with only 36 percent of its population living in urban areas as of 2022. India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan account for 97 per cent of the municipal solid waste generated in the region.
India has launched several schemes such as Swachch Bharat Abhiyan and large scale dumpsite closure and reclamation programs. According to Central Pollution Control Board there was 461 million tonnes of legacy waste in 2,244 dumpsites as of June 2023. Though reclamation of dumpsites is acknowledged technically feasible, it has generally been undertaken in a limited number of cases, primarily where land values are high and where the cost and complexity of meeting environmental standards and preventing secondary contamination can be justified. (IPA Service)
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