Unveiling the Environmental and Social Challenges of Plastics Waste Mismanagement in India: A Quantitative Approach on Rural and Urban Disparities

Plastic waste mismanagement in India presents significant environmental and social challenges, with striking differences in collection and disposal between urban and rural areas. Here, we apply a two-phase, mixed-methods framework to quantify household plastics waste (HPW) generation and trace its end-of-life (EOL) pathways. In Phase I, we synthesized literature and government reports to establish baseline HPW generation rates and to identify the primary sectors contributing to waste production. Phase II combined Material Flow Analysis (MFA) with data from reported waste audits and ministry data to map estimate EOL pathways across urban and rural contexts. Our results show that urban India collects 96.8% of generated HPW, 75%–80% handled by formal municipal services and 20% by informal collectors, yet only 12% of all plastics is recycled; the remaining 68% ends up in landfills or dumpsites. Informal actors supply 42%–86% of feedstock to material recovery facilities, underscoring their critical, though often unrecognized role. In rural areas, informal recyclers achieve a 70% recycling rate for the plastics, but 60% of flexible plastics remains uncollected, with 20% openly burned and 40% openly dumped, resulting in environmental losses of plastics. We also document that synthetic textile waste, funneled through informal reuse networks, bolsters rural recycling practices. By identifying distinct waste-generation patterns and EOL dynamics, our study offers actionable insights for tailoring region-specific interventions. Strengthening informal–formal sector linkages and improving rural collection infrastructure emerge as pivotal strategies for reducing plastics losses into the environment.