Though, since consumption goes hand in hand with disposal, this post should probably be called ‘Ten facts about consumption and disposal in India’.

1. An average Indian consumes 52 cubic metres of water a year – a fourth of that of a person in the USA who uses 215 cubic metres, and half of a French person who uses 106 cubic metres. Despite this conservative consumption, Indians are consuming much beyond their means. This is clearly due to the huge population the land supports. The following map shows that renewable water reserves in the country are among the lowest in the world.

Annual water availability (from the World Business Council for Sustainable Development)

2. In 2000, of the total water used in the country, 89 per cent was used in agriculture and 6 per cent in industries. The remaining 5 per cent was for daily personal usage. This huge share of water consumption by agriculture is a common feature among less developed nations. Industry is the largest consumer of water in more industrialized nations.

3. In 2004-05, an average Indian spent half of her income on food. Of this, 30 per cent was spent on cereals, 23 per cent on meat and dairy, and about 16 per cent on vegetables and fruits (Source: NSSO).

4. Despite the country’s growing prosperity, malnutrition among children has increased. This has been a puzzle to policy makers, economists, nutritionists and the alike. Even among the richer sections of the population, malnutrition makes a surprising presence.

5. Indians are the largest consumers of gold in the world, accounting for 20 per cent of the world demand. They are also the largest consumers of milk, and some might suggest, of news.

Gold is at home in India

6. National Geographic’s Greendex rates Indians as the most sustainable consumers of  all (17) countries participating in the survey. These countries included China, Korea, Japan, Australia, Russia, Germany, France, USA, Canada, Mexico among others.

7. India’s fertilizer use in 2008 was higher than that of USA, France and Spain according to the World Bank. Good news or bad news, you decide!

8. Recycling is a traditional business in India. My Sunday memories are of the ‘kabadiwallah’ coming to collect our old newspapers and beer bottles for which he paid us a small price. He got a higher price for reselling/recycling them, though I doubt the profit margin was much.

9. Rag-picking is the darker side of waste disposal. The government doesn’t collect the waste but there are people who you must pay to take your waste. (Interesting how paper and glass you get paid for while garbage you must pay to remove.) They then sort through it, to see what is worth keeping/recycling, and what is to be disposed. Other ragpickers join them at the landfill site. Research by NGO Chintan shows that about 1 in 100 persons living in Delhi works in this occupation. They together save about Rupees 600,000 daily by saving and recycling objects.

A rag picker sorting through the rubbish ( AFP PHOTO/TENGKU BAHAR)

10. Some 40 to 50 thousand tonnes of e-waste (old computers and computer parts) is imported into India every month. Here it is sorted and recycled under inadequate safety measures. Most of this trade is illegal, coming from USA and Europe. Green peace states that inspections of 18 European seaports in 2005 found as much as 47 percent of the waste destined for export, including e-waste, was illegal.