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By:

Dr. Sanjay Joshi

31 August 2024 at 3:05:29 pm

India: The Largest Source of Plastic Pollution Worldwide

So, dear readers, now that we have learnt how and why waste plastic causes pollution, let us look a little deeper into this problem, which has grown out of proportion both globally and locally. Plastic pollution is no longer a distant issue; it has become a serious and immediate threat to our environment. According to the latest data from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and several international researchers, over 460...

India: The Largest Source of Plastic Pollution Worldwide

So, dear readers, now that we have learnt how and why waste plastic causes pollution, let us look a little deeper into this problem, which has grown out of proportion both globally and locally. Plastic pollution is no longer a distant issue; it has become a serious and immediate threat to our environment. According to the latest data from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and several international researchers, over 460 million metric tonnes of plastic are produced worldwide every year. This plastic is used in a wide range of applications, many of which are short-lived and quickly discarded. From this, an estimated 20–23 million metric tonnes of plastic waste end up in the environment annually. This figure is expected to increase sharply by 2040 if strong measures are not taken. Plastic litter is now found everywhere—on land, in rivers, in oceans, and even in the air as microplastics. Although plastic pollution is a global problem, Mera Mahan Bharat is sadly at the forefront of this crisis. A recent paper published in Nature states that India has become the world’s largest contributor to plastic pollution, accounting for nearly 20% of the total global plastic waste. India generates about 9.3 million tonnes of plastic waste every year. This is more than the waste produced by many regions. Of this, nearly 3.5 million tonnes are improperly discarded and mismanaged, meaning they are neither collected nor scientifically processed. Plastic waste in India has been rising at an alarming rate due to rapid urbanisation, population growth, and economic development. In cities, the demand for single-use plastics and packaging materials has increased drastically, driven by convenience and changing lifestyles. India’s per capita plastic consumption has reached around 11 kg per year and is expected to grow further with increasing industrialisation and consumerism. This trend places enormous pressure on our already overburdened waste management systems. The major factors responsible for the sharp increase in plastic pollution in India are as follows. Single-Use Plastics Single-use plastics, such as polythene carry bags, straws, disposable cutlery, cups, and packaging materials, form a large share of India’s plastic waste. Despite regulatory bans and restrictions, nearly 43% of the country’s total plastic waste still comes from single-use plastics. This clearly shows that the problem lies not only in policy-making but also in enforcement and implementation. The continued dominance of single-use plastics is largely due to weak monitoring and the lack of affordable, easily available alternatives. Many small vendors, shopkeepers, and consumers still find plastic to be the cheapest and most convenient option for daily use. Although the government introduced a ban on selected single-use plastic items in 2022, its impact on the ground has been limited. These products are still widely manufactured, sold, and used because they are inexpensive, lightweight, and readily available in local markets, making the ban difficult to enforce consistently. Open Burning and Landfilling: About 5.8 million tonnes of plastic waste are openly burnt across India every year, mainly in rural areas and urban slums. This practice is extremely dangerous, as it not only worsens air pollution but also releases highly toxic chemicals into the atmosphere. These pollutants directly harm local communities and add to climate change. In addition, nearly 30% of total plastic waste is dumped in uncontrolled landfills. Such sites are not scientifically managed, allowing harmful chemicals to seep into the soil and nearby water bodies. Over time, this contaminates groundwater, damages ecosystems, and poses serious risks to human and animal life. During the winter months, it is common to see people collecting wood and dry leaf litter from the streets, lighting small fires, and sitting around them for warmth. However, plastic bottles, wrappers, and polythene bags often get mixed in and are burnt along with the leaves. Most people are unaware that they are not only polluting the environment but also inhaling toxic fumes from very close distances. The smoke from burning plastic contains harmful substances that can cause respiratory problems, eye irritation, skin issues, and even long-term diseases such as cancer. Open burning of plastic is therefore one of the most hazardous practices for human health and environmental safety. Besides these factors, inefficient waste management infrastructure, discrepancies in data reporting, and heavy dependence on informal waste handling systems further worsen the problem. We will explore these issues in greater detail next week. Till then, have a good weekend! (The author is an environmentalist. Views Personal.)

The Missing Middle: The 15 to 50 Problem

Headcount isn’t a leadership system. If decisions still orbit you, growth will lurch … no matter how many people you add.

A founder told me last week, “We’ve doubled headcount and revenue this year. Why does everything feel heavier?”


Because the business outgrew a small-team way of working … but the leadership system didn’t.


What changes with 20, 35, 50 people isn’t just the number of seats. It’s the number of decisions moving at once. If every decision still routes to one or two leaders, growth stops compounding. It starts lurching.


What breaks first (and why)

When a company jumps from “tight crew” to “real team,” three quiet failures show up:

1. Role fog

Everyone is helpful, nobody is accountable. Work moves, outcomes wobble. People ask for “eyes” instead of taking decisions.


2. Decision vacuum

Escalations are informal (“just ping me”). Approvals depend on presence, not rules. Leaders become the emotional backstop: trusted, but never free.


3. Rhythm drift

Reviews happen when someone remembers. Handoffs depend on who’s online. Dashboards show activity, not ownership. Teams look busy; nothing lands cleanly.


None of this is incompetence. It’s design debt.


The leadership system you actually need

Scale doesn’t come from more people. It comes from installing the middle … not as titles, but as a system. Four pieces matter:


1) Role Charters (not job descriptions)

Write one page per manager-level role: scope, decisions they own, what “good” looks like, and where they escalate. If the team can’t point to this without asking Slack, you don’t have it.


2) Decision Ladders

Define what gets decided where. Green = decide and inform. Amber = decide with consult. Red = escalate with context. When this lives in heads, leaders get dragged into amber decisions all week.


3) Escalation Windows

Fixed slots where stuck work is surfaced and resolved … inside the system, not around it. No more 11:17 PM pings. Predictability is what converts “I’ll just check” into “the process will catch it.”


4) Published Rhythm

Weekly ops checks with a standing agenda. Ownership tagged on the board. “Work-in-progress” lanes visible to all. Visibility replaces supervision; leaders stop hovering because the system shows enough.


A composite scene (you’ve seen this movie)

A services firm grew from 18 to 46 people in eight months. New managers were hired. Tools were set up. Yet everything still slowed unless the founder “looked once.”


We didn’t add more meetings. We installed the middle:

  • Converted job descriptions into Role Charters with owned outcomes.

  • Introduced a Decision Ladder for sales and delivery.

  • Created two Escalation Windows a week.

  • Shifted standups to a Published Rhythm with explicit handoffs.


Week 1 felt slower … on purpose. By Week 4: fewer ad-hoc pings, shorter review loops, and most importantly, decisions moved without the founder’s “final glance.” The team didn’t need more people. They needed a leadership system they could see.


Control isn’t clarity

Founders often confuse presence with performance. Your presence is valuable when the system is young. As you scale, constant presence becomes distortion. People wait. They hedge. They hold back the last 10% because you might want to change it.


Leadership at 50+ isn’t about being in more rooms. It’s about designing exits from rooms  so the right decisions happen without you, and the right ones still find you on time.


How to start this week

One hour. Four moves.

  • Name the middle. List managers who should be catchers … owning closure, not just tasks.

  • Write one Role Charter. Pick your highest-friction lane. Clarify scope, decisions, and “done.”

  • Draw a Decision Ladder. What is green/amber/red for that lane? Publish it.

  • Schedule two Escalation Windows. Lock both into the calendar.


    Announce that late-night DMs are now the exception.

Run this for 14 days. Expect wobble. That wobble is your system learning to hold.


The takeaways

  • People add capacity. Systems add speed. Without the middle, headcount just multiplies coordination.

  • Visibility beats supervision. When ownership is public, leaders can be strategically unavailable.

  • Calm is scheduled. Rhythm isn’t bureaucracy; it’s how scale stops stuttering.


If this sounds like your Monday mornings, send it to the person who keeps the wheels turning when you’re in meetings. They’re your first catcher. Build around them.


(The writer is Co-founder at PPS Consulting, helping growth-stage founders install the leadership systems and operating rhythms their next stage demands. Views are personal. Write to rahul@ppsconsulting.biz)

 

1 Comment

rahul
Sep 11, 2025

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