Question - Do Plasticss Make-up A Large Part Of The Municipal Solid Waste?
Answer -
NO. A study conducted by the National Environmental Engineering Reasearch Institute, Nagpur for the BMC, putsthe figure at 0.75%.
Even in Europe and U.S.A., with per capita consumption of plastics at over 50 kgs per annum (India is 2.7 kgsper annum), plastic waste makes up 8% of the total muncipal solid waste. The rest is made up of organic materials (33%), paper & board (30%), glass and metals (16%) and others (13%).
Plastics make a significant contribution by reducing the weight and volume of materials that are typically thrownaway. Unfortunately in India, waste is littered, instead of being disposed to facilitate collection and recycling.