SURVEY ON PLASTIC WASTE GENERATION OF ASSAM AND ITS

MANAGEMENT

Amarjyoti Kashyap
President, ENVIRON
Tel. No.: 0361-2235959(O)
09864017436 (M)
E-mail: environ_assam@yahoo.com

A preliminery survey was conducted by a group of members of ENVIRON under the

leadership of Amarjyoti Kashyap, president, ENVIRON and lecturer, department of
Environmental Science of Lalit Chandra Bharali College,Guwahati, in various zones of
Assam.It is estimated that plastic waste of Assam is about50,000 Kg/day;
15,00,000Kg/month or 1,80,00000Kg/year and in Guwahati alone is 5000Kg/day;
1,50,000Kg/month or 18,00000Kg/year.
A list of different types of plastic waste of Assam is given below :
1.

Polythene carry bags

15,000 kg/day

2.

Plastic glass ( tea, coffee, water, ice-cream, curd etc.)

3.

Plastic bottle (water bottle, saline bottle, cold drinks & straw pipe,cosmetics,
champoo, detergent, various automobile lubricants, edibleoil, fruit juic,
medicine bottle etc.)
7,000 kg/day

4.

Disposible syringe and other hospital plastic waste including cathetor,

operation thread, canula & pipes etc.
5,000 kg/day

5.

Various plastic packaging ( vegitable oil, salt, milk, tea, coffee, biscuits
& snakes, chips, spices, maggi, noodles, chokolate, pan-masala, medicine
blister strip, champoo, detergent, lubricants, toothpaste & tooth brush,
medicine, cosmetics, pen, comb etc.)
11,000 kg/day

6.

Polythene sheet or cover used as rapper of various consumerr goods,

automobile goods, electronic goods, sanitatry goods, clothes, various
packaged food, damaged plastic toys, condoms, plastic sheet used as for
RCC construction and other damaged plastic sheet & plastic thread,
damaged plastic pipes, damaged plastic bucket & othr plastic waste etc.

3000 kg/day

9,000 kg/day
Total

50,000 kg/day

The only way to solve the plastic problem is the recycling of waste plastic. At present the
major problem of plastic recycling is the segregation due to the haphazard dumping along
with biodegradable solid waste. Even most of the citizen keeps the biodegradable
common waste inside the plastic carry bag and throwing it into the dust bin or
surroundings which ultimately hamper the normal process of decomposition and pollute
the surroundings.
As per the preliminary survey of ENVIRON there are about 5000 rag pickers in
Guwahati who is earning Rs. 20.00 to Rs. 200.00 per day and about 10,000 peoples are
directly engaged in the non biodegradable solid waste recycling business with about 1000
nos. Dump House in Guwahati and presently they are collecting only,
Plastic

10%

Tin & Iron

70%

Glass

60%

If all the solid waste are properly collected and utilized under the waste to wealth concept
developed by ENVIRON, the employment generation may be increased up to 1,00000 in
Guwahati which will give sustainability to the urban poor where solid waste is the
only resource for sustainable urban poor development. The concept may be introduced
not only in our state but Country

as a whole.

ENVIRON HAS DEVELOPED SOLID WASTE RESOURCE MNAGEMENT

under the following six principles:
1. Popularize the concept waste to wealth among the citizen.
2. Segregation of the solid waste through the specific Litter Bin at the source.
3. Source reduction Encouraging the citizens for optimum reuse the solid waste and to
produce compost themselves from biodegradable solid waste through their own compost
pits instead of purchasing Cow dung and other manures.
4. Source collection - Proper collection of the segregated solid waste from the source.
5. Utilization - Proper utilization of the collected segregated solid waste.
6. Employment generation - by selling the solid waste and encouraging the
unemployed for more recycling industries of the non biodegradable sold waste and to

produce
vermicompost
biodegradable solid waste.

and

organic manure

commercially

from

the

Why people will segregate the solid waste?

Unless and until people will get some benefit, they will never accept any additional
burden and participate to segregate the solid waste at source. ENVIRON have developed
entire solid waste management programme in a professional way. Where people will
participate due to their own benefit as every body will be able to earn money from their
segregated solid waste. ENVIRON have developed a special type of litterbin specially
for plastic waste made up from bamboo (biodegradable), which is named as money
earning litter bin, where people will keep their plastic waste to earn money.