Karnataka processes only 32% of its solid waste, worst performer in southern India
CPCB data has revealed that Karnataka has the worst track record in terms of solid waste processing among any other state in South India. Only Odisha, West Bengal and Jammu Kashmir fall behind Karnataka.
Urban areas in the country generate close to 1.45 lakh tonnes of trash every single day (Representative Image) | Photo Credit: BCCL
Bengaluru: Data released by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and the ministry of housing and urban affairs has revealed that Karnataka fares the worst among other tier-1 cities with respect to the processing of solid waste management. The data further asserts that only West Bengal, Odisha and Jammu Kashmir fall behind Karnataka in this regard.
According to a report by Times of India, urban areas in the country generate close to 1.45 lakh tonnes of trash every single day. Out of this, only 50 per cent is processed while the remaining is either disposed of or dumped in landfills. Meanwhile, only 32 per cent of the 10,000 tonnes of solid waste generated by the state of Karnataka every day is processed as of January 2019.
In fact, Karnataka has the worst track record with respect to solid waste processing as compared to any other state in the southern part of India. In 2015, then Union Minister for Urban Development, M Venkaiah Naidu had also written to mayors and municipality chiefs from across the country urging them to curb "improper and unscientific handling of waste". This will not only affect our environment but also the aesthetics of our surroundings, Naidu had said.
However, principal secretary with the urban development department, Mahendra Jain was quoted as saying that despite the need for improvement, almost all states are now processing more solid waste than they were a number of years ago. He further added that the segregation model used at the source in India is one of the best in the world.
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