In response to a question in the Lok Sabha, the government recently shared data related to the generation of various types of waste in the last few years. Generation of all types of waste increased over the years in varying degrees. Gujarat accounted for about 28% of the hazardous waste generated in the country in 2019-20. As per World Bank data, 2.01 billion tonnes of solid waste is generated annually around the world. As per conservative estimates, at least 33% of this waste is not managed in an environmentally safe manner. High-income countries account for 34% of the global waste while accounting for only 16% of the population. However, they are far ahead in waste collection rates with 96%, while in the case of Low-middle income and Low-income countries it is 51% and 39% respectively. Apart from waste collection, waste disposal is also an important issue. Around 37% of the global waste is disposed of in some form of landfill and 19% is recovered for recycling or composting. It is estimated that global waste will grow to 3.4 billion tonnes by 2050. Increased human activity across various walks of life contributes to the generation of waste. With a population of 1.39 billion and among the faster-growing economies in the world, how does India fare with respect to Waste generation & management? In this story, we look at the data relating to Waste generation & management in India for the last few years. The average annual increase of Plastic Waste is 21.8% Responding to a question in Lok Sabha, the government recently (on 06 December 2021) furnished data relating to Waste generated, collected, and processed in the country. The information is based on the annual data compiled by Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). The data consists of information relating to the generation of solid waste, plastic waste, e-waste, construction & demolition (C&D) waste, Bio-medical waste (BMW) & Hazardous waste. This information is collected from the respective State pollution control boards or pollution control committees i.e., SPCBs/PCCs. As per the information by CPCB, there is an increase in the generation of all the major types of waste, the more prominent being Plastic Waste. The average annual increase observed in the generation of Plastic waste is 21.6%. Bio-Medical waste recorded an average annual increase of 5.8%. Hazardous waste has an average annual increase of 2%, with the average increase in solid waste being around 0.1%. 87.82 lakh Metric tons of Hazardous waste generated in 2019-20 Any waste with properties that make it dangerous and or capable of having a harmful effect on human health or the environment is considered as ‘Hazardous Waste’ (HW). It is generated from various sources including – Industrial waste, batteries, mining, agricultural facilities, etc. As per the data provided by CPCB, in the year 2019-20, 87.82 lakh metric tons (LMT) of Hazardous waste was generated in the country. This was a slight increase over the previous year when it was 86.39 LMT. However, the amount of waste generated in both 2018-19 and 2019-20 is less than 2017-18 when 94.38 LMT of hazardous waste was generated. Gujarat reports the highest volume of hazardous waste generated in the country. During 2019-20, 24.85 LMT i.e., around 28% of the total hazardous waste generated in the country is from Gujarat. Maharashtra & Tamil Nadu are next with 9.99 LMT and 9.64 LMT respectively in 2019-20. During 2019-20, 12.25 lakh MT of Hazardous waste was recycled, which is lower than that of the previous year. After a marginal growth in 2019, Bio-medical waste increased by 4.5% in 2020 As per CPCB data, an average of 647 tons of Bio-medical waste (BMW) is generated in a day during 2020. It is an increase of 4.5% compared to 2019 when an average of 619 tons of BMW was generated in a day. The growth in BMW during 2020 is higher than that of 2019 when the increase in average per day BMW was only by 0.65%. This followed a period of increasing growth in the previous three years, where the average daily BMW increased by 3.19%, 7.9% and 10% during 2016,2017 & 2018 respectively. Apart from the increase in the BMW generated, there is also an increase in the BMW being treated. In 2020, the bio-medical waste treated on average in a day was 577 tons a day compared to 544 tons in the earlier year. However, there is an increasing gap in the volume of BMW generated and treated. While the reasons for only a marginal increase in BMW during 2019 could not be ascertained, the relatively higher increase in 2020 could be due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the country. Data for 2021, could further confirm the impact of COVID-19 on the generation of BMW in India.