Question : Generation of Solid Waste

(a): the details of the solid waste generated every year across the country, State/UT-wise;

(b): the steps taken / being taken by the Government to reuse this solid waste;

(c): whether the Government is planning to encourage waste-to-energy projects in all cities and towns across the country and if so, the details thereof;

(d): whether the Government has received any suggestion from any State in this regard and if so, the details thereof; and

(e): whether his Ministry has tied up with the Ministry of Power in this regard and if so, the details thereof and the time by which it is likely to be generated?

THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR POWER AND NEW & RENEWABLE ENERGY (I/C)
(SHRI R.K. SINGH)

(a): The State / UTs wise details of estimated generation of municipal solid waste is given in Annexure.

(b): As per Solid Waste Management Rules 2016, it is the duty and responsibility of local authorities to "setup material recovery facilities or secondary storage facilities with sufficient space for sorting of recyclable materials to enable informal or authorized waste pickers and waste collectors to separate recyclables from the waste and provide easy access to waste pickers and recyclers for collection of segregated recyclable waste such as paper, plastic, metal, glass, textile from the source of generation or from material recovery facilities". In addition, under Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban, a guide titled "An Inclusive Swachh Bharat through the integration of the Informal Sector: A Step by Step Guide" has been published to help the Urban Local Bodies & States to integrate informal waste pickers to promote reuse/ recycling of solid wastes. For the recycling and reuse of Construction & Demolition Waste, the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has amended/revised the IS 383 - Specification for Coarse and Fine aggregates, enabling the use of recycled aggregates in construction activities.

(c) to (e): The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) provides Central Financial Assistance (CFA) for setting up of waste to energy plants utilizing agricultural waste, urban waste, industrial waste and Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) to generate power. In addition, the Swachh Bharat Mission under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs also provides central assistance of 35% of the total project cost to all statutory cities/ towns as per the guidelines for Solid Waste Processing including waste to energy projects. No specific suggestion has been received in this regard by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs as well as MNRE on waste to energy plants from State Governments. At present, six waste-to-energy plants using Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) with cumulative installed capacity of 65.75 MW are in operation in the country.
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