In India, the proliferation of plastic waste has become a problem that cannot be ignored. The Indian government is actively making efforts to effectively and scientifically manage waste.
According to Indian media reports, the capital, New Delhi, generates 689 tons of plastic waste every day, and India produces nearly 26,000 tons of plastic waste each day, of which at least 40% is not recycled. The proliferation of plastic waste is mainly due to the rapid growth in the production and consumption of plastic products. According to the data from the All India Plastics Manufacturing Association in 2017, the Indian plastics industry has more than 30,000 companies, with an annual production value of 1.1 trillion rupees (1 Indian rupee is about 0.095 renminbi), and India consumes 13 million tons of plastic per year. Plastic waste is 9 million tons. It is estimated that by 2020, consumption of plastic will climb to 20 million tons.
The Indian government is actively seeking ways to solve plastic waste. New Delhi has banned the use of plastic bottles since 2009, and plans to gradually expand to all plastic products, but the ban has been unsatisfactory. At present, the Indian government is constantly increasing its propaganda efforts to try to change People use the habits of plastic products. Indian Prime Minister Modi announced on World Environment Day on June 5 this year that it plans to eliminate all disposable plastic products by 2022. The Indian government will also launch a clean-up campaign targeting marine plastic waste.
In addition, India has increased its recycling of plastic waste, such as using plastic waste for road construction, power generation, garment manufacturing, etc. At present, the New Delhi government has established three waste power plants for the treatment of waste such as plastic waste; At the National Chemical Laboratory in Pune City, Rastra, experimenters are studying the use of plastic waste to make clothes or sofa covers. New Delhi-Mumbai-based highway construction materials also use about 15% of plastic waste.
Despite this, the recycling rate of plastic waste is far behind the consumption rate. According to India's Central Pollution Control Committee, about 96% of India's plastic waste can be recycled, but almost no one in the home sector classifies waste. Most of the plastic waste eventually enters unauthorized dumping sites, or is scattered on the street, eventually blocking the sewers, contaminating the water and soil, and even being consumed by animals and entering people's food chains.
Pandit, director of the Environment and Waste Management Office at the Think Tank Institute of Energy and Resources in New Delhi, told this reporter that in order to fundamentally solve the problem of plastic pollution, it is necessary to reduce the use of disposable plastic products while considering improving the product design phase so that For plastic waste collection, sorting, recycling and degradation. Pandi believes that the government also needs to introduce laws and regulations to increase the enforcement of plastic waste management.