India named world's biggest plastic polluter

Study finds it is responsible for about one-fifth of global plastic emissions each year

- Debarshi Dasgupta

It has long been known that India is one of the world's top plastic waste generators, with only China producing more plastic waste than the country annually.

But when it comes to being the planet's top plastic polluter, a new scientific paper has ranked India as the worst offender, whereas China is ranked fourth, turning the spotlight on India's plastic waste management problem.

The paper published in the scientific journal Nature in September is the first-ever study to find plastic emissions in India to be the highest in the world.

It found that India is responsible for nearly 9.3 million metric tonnes (Mt) of plastic emissions every year. This is equivalent to about one-fifth of global plastic emissions.

Authors of the study defined plastic emissions as materials that move from controlled waste management systems into the open environment, where they are no longer under human control.

Over 90 per cent of these emissions in India come from uncollected municipal waste and waste burned at disposal sites.

While China is often perceived as the greatest plastic emitter on the back of the colossal amounts of plastic waste generated in the country, it received a lower ranking in the Nature study as it has made progress in waste management, including through better collection, incineration and controlled landfills.

China's emissions of plastic amount to 2.8Mt per year, according to the paper authored by scholars at the University of Leeds, UK. Nigeria and Indonesia were placed second and third in the list, with emissions of 3.5Mt and 3.4Mt, respectively.

In sharp contrast to the example set by China, India's dubious distinction of being the top plastic polluter was due to poor waste collection and management.