India faces a major waste management problem due to rapid urbanization and economic growth. It generates over 62 million tonnes of municipal solid waste annually, of which only 43 million tonnes is collected and under 12 million tonnes is treated. Major forms of waste include plastic, water pollution, food waste, and e-waste. Plastic pollution is a huge global problem, with 9% of plastic produced recycled and the rest accumulating in landfills and oceans. India also struggles with water pollution from domestic, industrial, and agricultural wastewater. Food waste is a major issue in India, especially at social gatherings, and e-waste recycling presents health and environmental risks if not handled properly. Short term solutions proposed include reducing waste

1. Waste- A Major Problem for India
By- Tushar.K. Ladla
(class – 9C)
(Roll no- 42)

2. Contents to talk about-
• Wastage problems in India
• Major Waste of India
• Waste management

4. Wastage problems in India
• India's rapid economic growth
has resulted in a substantial
increase in solid waste
generation in urban centres. ...
Due to sustained rapid
economic growth, Indian cities
are expected to only intensify
their consumption patterns.
With rapid urbanisation, the country
is facing massive waste management
challenge.
Over 377 million urban people live
in 7,935 towns and cities and
generate 62 million tonnes of
municipal solid waste per annum.
Only 43 million tonnes (MT) of the
waste is collected, 11.9 MT is treated
and 31 MT is dumped in landfill sites.

6. Major waste of INDIA
• Plastic
• Water(becoming dirty)
• Food(as a daily consumption)
• E-Waste

7. Plastic
Plastic pollution is the accumulation
of plastic products in the environment
that adversely affects wildlife, wildlife
habitat and humans. Plastics that act
as pollutants are categorized into
micro-, meso-, or macro debris,
based on size.
As of 2018, about 380 million tonnes of plastic is produced worldwide each year.
From the 1950s up to 2018, an estimated 6.3 billion tonnes of plastic has been
produced worldwide, of which an estimated 9% has been recycled and another
12% has been burnt.
In 2012, it was estimated that there was approximately 165 million tons of plastic
pollution in the world's oceans. A 2017 study found that 83% of tapwater samples taken
around the world contained plastic pollutants. This was the first study to focus on global
drinking water pollution with plastics, and showed that with a contamination rate of
94%, tap water in the United States was the most polluted, followed by Lebanon and
India.

8. Water
• Wastewater (or waste water)
is any water that has been
affected by human use.
Wastewater is "used water from
any combination of domestic,
industrial, commercial or
agricultural activities, surface
runoff or storm water, and any
sewer inflow or sewer
infiltration".Therefore,
wastewater is a byproduct of
domestic, industrial,
commercial or agricultural
activities. The characteristics of
wastewater vary depending on
the source.
Types of wastewater
include: domestic
wastewater from
households,
municipal wastewater
from communities
(also called sewage)
or industrial
wastewater from
industrial activities.
Wastewater can
contain physical,
chemical and
biological pollutants.
Households may produce wastewater from flush toilets,
sinks, dishwashers, washing machines, bath tubs, and
showers. Households that use dry toilets produce less
wastewater than those that use flush toilets.

9. Food
Food waste or food loss is food that is
discarded or lost uneaten. The causes of
food waste or loss are numerous and occur
at the stages of producing, processing,
retailing and consuming.
Global food loss and waste amount to
between one-third and one-half[
of all food
produced. Loss and wastage occur at all
stages of the food supply chain or value
chain. In low-income countries, most loss
occurs during production, while in
developed countries much food – about
100 kilograms (220 lb) per person per year
– is wasted at the consumption stage.
if we talk about India its mainly wasted in
marriages, holy meetings and even on
picnics, etc…

10. E-WASTE
Electronic waste or e-waste describes
discarded electrical or electronic devices. Used
electronics which are destined for reuse,
resale, salvage, recycling, or disposal are also
considered e-waste. Informal processing of e-
waste in developing countries can lead to
adverse human health effects and
environmental pollution.
Electronic scrap components, such as CPUs,
contain potentially harmful components such as
lead, cadmium, beryllium, or brominated flame
retardants. Recycling and disposal of e-waste
may involve significant risk to health of workers
and communities in developed countries and
great care must be taken to avoid unsafe
exposure in recycling operations and leaking of
materials such as heavy metals from landfills
and incinerator ashes.
One of the major challenges is recycling the printed circuit boards from the
electronic wastes. The circuit boards contain such precious metals as gold, silver,
platinum, etc. and such base metals as copper, iron, aluminium, etc. One way e-
waste is processed is by melting circuit boards, burning cable sheathing to recover
copper wire and open- pit acid leaching for separating metals of value. Conventional
method employed is mechanical shredding and separation but the recycling
efficiency is low. Alternative methods such as cryogenic decomposition have been
studied for printed circuit board recycling

12. Waste management (short term goals)
• Select according to their shelf life. Use the
green vegetables first. Use canned and
bottled food before expiry dates.
• Reuse the refrigerated left-overs (if any) for the
very next meal.
• Even if food gets spoilt then compost it.
• If you work in an office that has a canteen, check
with them on how they manage excess food.
Cooked food, especially since it has a low shelf
life needs to be managed better and faster.
Check with NGOs who offer to transport excess
food to the needy.
• If you host a family get together either at
home, a marriage hall or throw a party at a
hotel, make sure you plan for the food to be
transported to a place like an orphanage or an
old age shelter.
• Make finishing your plate a habit. Try to inculcate
it further to as many possible.
• Plan out your meal and make your
shopping list to determine what you
actually need for the week. About 20% of
what we buy in urban India ends up
being thrown away. You could in the
week after cut down on the surplus and
soon in two or three weeks you will have
a precise list of your family’s weekly
consumption. You have no idea how
amazed you will be at how much you
buy and what you actually consume.
Needless to say that the difference is but
naturally wasted.
• Buy in quantities you can realistically use.
Avoid impulse buys. It will more or less find
the bin.
• If you cook at home, make sure you
cook keeping in mind there is no excess.
You can always complete your meals
with a few fruits rather than keep some
extra food in the refrigerator. It’s a lot
better and a healthier practice too.