Waste Management in India- A Growing Problem

Abstract

Waste has always been a perennial problem and its management remains a big predicament up to this day, since the amount of solid waste increases as populations rise and economics develop. Today, the total amount of waste generated annually worldwide is more than 4 billion tones; the municipal solid waste is between 1.6 to 2.0 billion tones. At present, India produce more than 62 million tones of solid waste annually, of which 80 percent is disposed of indiscriminately at dump yards in an unhygienic manner by the municipal authorities leading to problems of health and environmental degradation.