DROWNING IN PLASTIC

INDIA IS NOW THE WORLD'S BIGGEST PLASTIC POLLUTER. WHAT IT MEANS FOR OUR HEALTH AND HOW TO FIX IT

- BY SONAL KHETARPAL

At the sprawling 250-acre plastic bazaar at Tikri Kalan on the Delhi-Haryana border, towering mounds of white PP raffia bags stuffed with plastic scrap line the dusty, winding lanes. The plastic is segregated into at least 100 distinct varieties, ensuring each sack contains only one kind of plastic, since mixed plastic cannot be processed together. “Plastic waste from every district of India comes here,” says Vijay Sharma, office secretary, PVC and Plastic Waste Dealers Association. Between 30 and 50 trucks, each of 10-15 tonne capacity, arrive daily, says Sharma. Other traders estimate the figure to be much higher—200-250 trucks. Which means only one thing: the presence of a massive informal market—much larger than the formal one—right on Tikri Kalan’s periphery.

And thereby hangs a whole tale. In a 2022 analysis of Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data from 23 states and Union territories, the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) concluded that only 12 per cent of plastic waste in India is recycled, 20 per cent of it is burned while a significant 70 per cent is unaccounted-for, likely ending up in landfills or dumpyards and along roadsides. No wonder India emerged as the world’s largest plastic emitter in a September 2024 study published in science journal