Context:
India is now the world’s largest plastic polluter, emitting 9.3 million tonnes (Mt) annually, accounting for nearly 20% of global plastic emissions. Plastic emissions are defined as waste (debris or burnt material) that moves from managed or semi-managed systems into the uncontrolled environment.
Evidence of Underreporting
- India’s waste data is significantly underestimated due to:
- Exclusion of rural waste
- Informal sector recycling
- Open burning of uncollected waste
- Official rate: 0.12 kg per capita per day
Realistic rate: 0.54 kg per capita per day - Dumpsites outnumber sanitary landfills by 10:1
Data Gaps and Policy Blind Spots
- Waste generation data is sourced from municipal bodies via SPCBs and PCCs, but no methodology or audits are disclosed.
- Rural India, governed by Panchayati Raj institutions, is largely missing from official waste data.
Constitutional and Legal Framework
- The Supreme Court has affirmed that environmental protection is not just regulatory—it’s a constitutional imperative tied to fundamental rights.
- There is an urgent need for:
- Reliable, granular waste generation data
- Public disclosure of methodology
- Third-party scrutiny of data and systems
Infrastructure & Institutional Fixes
- Every urban and rural local body must be mandatorily linked to:
- Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs)
- Waste stream recyclers
- EPR (Extended Producer Responsibility) kiosks
- Sanitary landfills
- Geotagging of infrastructure is recommended for tracking and transparency
Operationalising EPR Effectively
- PIBOs (Producers, Importers, Brand Owners) must:
- Set up collection kiosks across all local bodies
- Employ workers to segregate and manage waste
- Align kiosk setup with local waste volumes, geography, and access
- This will integrate EPR with grassroots waste collection and segregation
Tanneries Case in Tamil Nadu
- On January 31, 2025, the Supreme Court issued a continuing mandamus to enforce cleanup of Vellore tanneries pollution.
- A compliance committee was formed with a four-month timeline.
- The court stated: “Justice will only be done when compliance with orders is ensured in a time-bound manner.”
Legal Principle: Polluter Pays
- Court reiterated that the polluter pays principle entails:
- Absolute liability for environmental damage
- Compensation to affected individuals and costs of environmental restoration
- The Government Pay Principle was invoked, making the state liable to compensate victims and recover from polluters.
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