The journey began two years ago. With broom in hand and enlisting star power from the likes of Sachin Tendulkar and Salman Khan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi rolled out India's biggest cleanliness drive under Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan. By 2019, the campaign aspires to rid India of open defecation, improve cleanliness and find ecofriendly solutions to tackle the country's humungous waste problem.

In 2016, ahead of its second anniversary, the buzz surely has risen, although the stink hasn't waned much. According to the government, India generates 62 million tonnes (mt) of waste annually, of which just about 70% (43 mt) is collected. Also, of the total, only 19% (11.9 mt) is processed and treated and the remaining — 31 mt — is dumped into landfill sites. Remember, of the total 62 mt of waste generated, about 5.6 mt is plastic waste, 0.17 mt is biomedical waste, 7.9 mt is hazardous waste and 12 lakh tonnes is electronic waste (ewaste)............................Read more

Source: The Economic Times