Representative image (TOI file photo)

NEW DELHI: Processing of municipal solid waste has more than doubled in urban areas in the past one year, government data show. Till May end, little over 54% of municipal solid waste generated across urban areas had been processed as compared to about 25% a year back.

Among all bigger states in waste processing , West Bengal is at the bottom of the list where only 9% of the garbage collected in cities and towns was being processed while Puducherry, Chandigarh, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh reported processing more than 80% of municipal solid waste. According to official data, in 17 states, including Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Uttarakhand, the share of garbage being processed was less than the national average.

Meghalaya is the worst where only about 4% of the trash collected was being treated. In Delhi, about 55% of garbage is processed. Sources said considering that progress so far in this area is little over the halfway mark, the urban affairs ministry is likely to seek the government's approval to extend the urban component of Swachh Bharat Mission beyond October, 2019. They said efforts need to be put in to sustain the progress made in toilet construction and their maintenance.

Officials said, on an average, urban areas in India generate about 1.44 lakh tonnes of municipal solid waste every day. "There is progress in collection of solid waste... We need to push the processing of waste," said an official. Till now 100% door-to-door collection of waste has been achieved in nearly 76,000 municipal wards out of total 8,000.

