Delhi leaves over 200 tonnes of plastic waste unprocessed daily: Report

The report, dated March 16, states that plastic waste generation in Delhi is around 1,155.7 tonnes per day, while processing capacity is at 939 tonnes per day.

Delhi, one of India’s largest generators of plastic waste, produces around 1,155 tonnes of plastic waste every day but is only able to process about 81.3% of it, leaving a gap of roughly 18.7% – or 216.7 tonnes – unprocessed daily, according to a government report on the city’s waste generation.

Delhi is currently biomining its three landfill sites at Ghazipur, Okhla, and Bhalswa. (Sunil Ghosh/Hindustan Times)

The report, dated March 16, states that plastic waste generation in Delhi is around 1,155.7 tonnes per day, while processing capacity stands at 939 tonnes per day. The remaining waste either leaks into the environment or ends up at landfills.

Despite the ban on single-use plastic items invoked in 2022 and the plastic waste management by-laws issued in 2024, compliance in the national capital remains lukewarm, the report shows. Under the plastic waste management rules, producers, brand owners, and processors of plastic waste are mandatorily required to register with government agencies.

Yet, as of March 2026, only 330 plastic waste producers, 20 brand owners, and 420 plastic waste processing units have registered with the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC), according to the report, a copy of which was seen by HT.

Delhi is currently biomining its three landfill sites at Ghazipur, Okhla, and Bhalswa. This process involves excavating, treating, and separating legacy waste into usable materials such as compost and fuel. “Around 5 to 10% of the fraction from landfills is coming out as combustibles. We are sending it to cement factories and paper mills to be used as fuel,” the official said.

The remaining unprocessed plastic waste in Delhi either leaks into the environment or ends up at landfills.

However, a senior municipal official associated with the project noted that the volume and light weight of plastic waste make it difficult to transport. “The plant will help reduce plastic waste into small granules which can be filled in bags and easily transported. Plastic waste assumes a lot of space in trucks, and its volume reduction and increase in calorific value will help us sell it to cement plants and waste-to-energy plants,” the official said.

According to CPCB data, India generates over 3.3 to 3.9 million tonnes of plastic waste annually, roughly 9,200 tonnes per day. Key contributors include Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and Gujarat, while major plastic-polluting cities include Delhi, Goa, and Hyderabad, with Goa reporting the highest per capita generation.

Experts pointed out that enforcement of the single-use plastic ban is inconsistent, with banned items still widely available, implying weak regulation of production and distribution.

“While recycling rates appear relatively high on paper, much of this is driven by the informal sector rather than municipal systems, so scientific processing remains limited. Similarly, although the Plastic Waste Management Rules and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) framework place greater accountability on producers and brands, on-ground implementation and verification of actual collection and recycling remain inadequate,” Bhavreen Kandhari, an environmental activist said.