Resource Conservation Through Recycling Paper Waste: a Study of a Class-I Town in Eastern India and Policy Recommendation for Sustainable Development

Solid waste management is considered necessary globally, nationally, and locally. Preserving the earth's resources is essential for ensuring humankind has a sustainable future. Recycling has always been a crucial component in achieving sustainable development. The present study was conducted in Kharagpur municipality based on a primary field survey with a structured survey schedule done by snowball sampling. The total waste paper collected by rag pickers and itinerant waste buyers is nearly 5144.92 metric tons yearly. Among that, 35.96% is collected by rag pickers, and itinerant waste buyers collect the rest. The average collection of rag pickers and itinerant waste buyers is 28.91 and 51.48 metric tons annually. The p-value of ANOVA analysis is (0.002) significant. Study reveals that recycling waste paper can save lots of natural resources approximately, save more than 11 lakh trees, 24lakh thousand litres of water, 13 thousand Electricity (mWh), 12 thousand Barrel of Oil (Petroleum), 22 thousand m3 landfill space and reduce above 2678 ton of air pollutant, & 250 ton of solid waste that, if the entire procedure is repeated to create the same quantity of new paper each year, will be generated. These recycling techniques reduce the further need for resource extraction from nature.