Clean India Challenge – A Business Opportunity

In today’s time we can see pictures of celebrities holding brooms and saying that they have taken clean India challenge. This can be seen in newspapers and social websites which is liked by million peoples and shared on their walls. Now the question arises, whether we, who are sharing these photographs, really got the message of campaign and following its main principal or it is just a showoff? And we really know about the quantity of waste we are producing? And how to manage the garbage we are producing?

In last week’s article I mentioned about rapidly increasing urbanization and cited that India will add 215 million people in cities by 2025. And garbage production is directly proportional to Urbanization.  As per a report of World Bank in 2012, urban India generates more than 1 lakh tones of waste per day. We can compare it with top two economies, which are also topping the chart in waste production as well. USA generates approximately 6.24 lakh tones and China produces 3.76 lakh tones of waste per day. By 2025 waste generation by urban India is expected to be more than triple i.e. approximately 3.76 lakh tones per day.

According to Central Pollution Control Board, approximately 1.27 lakh tones per day of Municipal Solid Waste were generated in our country during 2011-2012. Out of which only 70 percent was collected and around only 12.45 percent was processed or treated. Looking at this statistics, we can see a big problem in the form of garbage floating around us, which is more than enough to create havoc.

As per a research paper published in Nature on Oct 31, 2013 India will be fastest growing region in terms of waste production. And by 2100, India will be generating approximately 70 percent of total waste of all the high income and OECD countries put together.

As per a research report, after not more than 10 years, India will be having 130 Million desktops and 900 millions of laptops to dispose off. And Indian does not have more than 16 formal e-wastes recycle companies having capacity of 66000 metric tons, which account for only 10 percent of e-waste production.

If we talk about Industrial waste, then according to a report by European Business and Technology Center (EBTC), India produces around 100million tons per year of non hazardous solid waste with 70 million tons per year of coal ash from thermal power stations. Over 8 million tons per year hazardous waste is generated, out of which only 60 percent is recyclable and remaining 40 percent is non recyclable. As per same report by EBTC, municipal and hazardous waste market are above €1.5 Billion and €171 Million respectively (Not converted to USD or INR intentionally). The combined market must be now over €3.7 billion (not covering nuclear waste).

Government of India has provided assistance of INR 2500 Crore under 12^th Finance commission of SWM as compared to INR 2212 Crore in 11^th Finance Commission. The Urban Ministry of India calculated in 2009-10 that it would take INR 2.43 Lakh Crore to build suitable sewage network to cover whole urban India. This estimated value might have increased many folds till now due to rapid urbanization and delay in ground work.

This problem of waste generation will solve only with the cooperation of Government, Capitalists, Environmentalists and general public. This waste generation can be seen as a business opportunity as this problem can be tackled by shaking hands among Government of India and Capitalists. It is required to install more recycling and treatment plants so as to manage the waste generation. So this is the right time for capitalists to invest in this direction and do hit two targets i.e. Clean India and profit generation.