A drain on the Delhi-Faridabad border choked with plastic waste. Photo: Vikas Choudhary/CSE
Waste

Delhi chokes in plastic

The national capital faces a severe problem of plastic pollution, generating over 1,100 tonnes of plastic waste daily, much of which remains unprocessed

Vikas Choudhary

This photo shows a drain on the Delhi-Faridabad border choked with plastic waste.

Delhi faces a severe problem of plastic pollution. The metropolis generates over 1,100 tonnes of plastic waste daily. A significant portion of this remains unprocessed and ends up in the city’s already overflowing landfills.

Delhi generates over 1,100 tonnes of plastic waste daily.

Efforts have been made to tackle the crisis. These include waste-to-energy plants, road construction with plastic, and educational campaigns.

However, roadside vendors continue to use banned items and monitoring remains challenging. 

Plastic is a problem facing not just Delhi but the entire world.

Plastic is a problem facing not just Delhi but the entire world. As recently as last month, the most recent negotiations towards drafting a Global Plastic Treaty, the second part of the fifth session (INC-5.2) in Geneva, failed to reach a final agreement.