Dharthi Sustainables: Getting Down to the Roots of Solid Waste Management in India

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Dharthi Sustainables: Getting Down to the Roots of Solid Waste Management in India

The subcontinent’s solid waste management (SWM) system is notorious for its arid performance. But remember, despite being the second largest population in the world, India is not even amongst the top-10 garbage producing countries. While our almost 400 million urban population generate 62 million ton of solid waste per annum, the woe in truth is our centralized SWM system, wherein only 43 million of the waste is collected, 11.9 million is treated, and the rest 31 million is dumped in landfill sites haphazardly! Amidst the flaws in strategy, planning & execution, the smoking gun really is the lack of waste segregation (dry & wet) at the source.