Textile industry waste management in India

Abstract

The Indian textile industry is one of the oldest sectors in the country and is expected to reach a market size of US$ 250 billion by FY2019. It contributed two per cent to the GDP of India and employs more than 45 million people in 2017-18. The sector contributed 15 per cent to the export earnings of India in 2017-18. The production of raw cotton in India is estimated to have reached 34.9 million bales in FY18. According to UNEP (2007), there has been massive increase in demand of textiles due to aggressive growth of population and simultaneous boom of economy in the world. This has resulted in immense generation of textile and apparel waste as a result of over-production and over-consumption. The industry has been battling this issue from its onset but there hasn’t been any effective remedy to curb the problem.The waste disposal practices of textile industries affect not only the environment, but also its social and economic elements. DEP (2013) reported that the prevention and recycling of textile waste can return significant revenue from social, economic and environmental aspects. It was estimated that total solid waste produced by textile industries if recycled, would amount to ₹300 million per year (FY15). In order to achieve this objective, appropriate textile waste management techniques need to be designed which will help in minimizing the production of wastes.