Indore: MP generates over 10K tons waste per year from all tobacco products

Indore (Madhya Pradesh): Madhya Pradesh generates over 10,628 tons of waste per year generated from all tobacco products. Moreover, the amount of foil generated through the packaging of tobacco products is equivalent to the requirement of manufacturing an aircraft, that is, over 115.81 tons.

This surprising revelation was made by a study conducted by the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences, Jodhpur and National Institute of Cancer Prevention and Research Unit of the ICMR with the support of the Madhya Pradesh Voluntary Health Association (MPVHA).

According to the executive director of the MPVHA, Mukesh Kumar Sinha, the theme of ‘World No-Tobacco Day’ on May 31 is ‘Tobacco: Poisoning Our Planet’.

The study was carried out to assess the environmental burden in terms of plastic, paper, foil and filter waste posed by the use of various smoked and smokeless tobacco products at the national and state levels. The fact sheet of Madhya Pradesh was released during a health camp organised on Saturday.

‘Harmful for our health and planet’

‘The results of the study suggest that smokes of our state generate over 27.73 tons of waste only through the filters of cigarette and bidis. As many as 1.84 lakh T-shirts can be manufactured with these filters. Global data suggests that 3.5 million hectares are damaged by tobacco farming. The greenhouse gases and waste generated through the tobacco products are harmful for our health and the planet’ — Mukesh Kumar Sinha, executive director, MP Voluntary Health Association

Plastic waste generated in MP

§ Total annual plastic waste generated by cigarettes 38.9 tons

§ Total annual plastic waste generated by bidis 514.33 tons

§ Total annual plastic waste generated by SLTs 4,923.26 tons

§ Thus, total annual plastic waste generated by all forms of tobacco products amounts to 5,476.48 tons

Paper waste in MP

§ Total annual paper waste generated by cigarettes 598.93 tons

§ Total annual paper waste generated by bidis 437.73 tons

§ Total annual paper waste generated by SLTs 3,972.18 tons

§ Thus, total annual paper waste generated by all forms of tobacco products amounts to 4,409.9 tons

Foil waste in MP

§ Total foil waste/year by tobacco products (cigarettes) 115.81 tons

Filter waste in MP

§ Total annual filter waste generated by cigarettes 24.99 tons

§ Total annual filter waste generated by bidis 2.74 tons

§ Thus, total annual filter waste generated by all forms of tobacco products 27.73 tons

Total waste generated in MP

§ Total waste (Paper + Plastic + Foil + Filter) generated by all tobacco products/year 10,628.85 tons

§ Total waste produced per year by cigarettes 778.63 tons

§ Total waste produced per year by bidi 954.79 tons

§ Total waste produced per year by SLT 8,895.43 tons

Total Waste generated in MP is equivalent to:

§ Plastic: 5,476,480 Buckets

§ Paper: 109,009 Trees

§ Paper: 5,896,383 Notebooks

§ Foil: 1 Aircraft

§ Filter: 184321 T-shirts