A circular economy in waste has the potential to unlock ₹15,000-20,000 crore annually in Karnataka, said AV Manjunatha, associate professor at the Institute for Social and Economic Change.
Addressing a conference on ‘Circular Economy and Sustainability’ organized by the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) on Tuesday, he said circular economy can create 100 to 1.2000 million green jobs, especially in micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and also reduce carbon emissions by 20 to 25% from urban areas, promote adoption of clean technologies and adoption of clean technologies.
“Karnataka can develop a growth trajectory that decouples growth from fossil fuel consumption and waste to become a leader in circulation. But realizing this potential will require action by the public, private sector and civil society organizations,” he said.
He further added that the state can create circular practices that create economic prosperity and solve environmental problems by investing in research and development, improving policy frameworks, mobilizing financial mechanisms and promoting cross-sectoral cooperation.
“Moving from a linear model (make-produce-select) to a circular model (reduce-reuse-repair-recycle-renew) requires system-level transformation across policy, technology, markets, institutions and citizen behavior,” he added.
He also said that the total revenue expected from the imposition of user charge on solid waste management (SWM) and construction and demolition (C&D waste) and SWM processing in Bengaluru alone is around ₹1,030 crore.
On sewage management, he said that the total sewage management in the Greater Bengaluru area is 1,480 million liters per day (MLD).
“If effectively treated, this sewage is estimated to generate 1153 MLD of usable water (for non-potable purposes). At ₹ 300 per 1,000 liters of water, the treated sewage is expected to generate an income of ₹ 346 crore to BWSSB annually,” he said.
He further said about electronic waste that it contains metals such as gold, silver, platinum, palladium, copper and other rare earth elements such as neodymium, cobalt, lithium.
Computers, laptops and mobiles each have approximately 0.2g, 0.1g and 33mg of gold.
“A total of 2,92,846 metric tonnes of e-waste worth ₹2,886 crore is generated annually, of which only ₹317 crore is recovered and the estimated loss is ₹2,569 crore,” he said.
Plastic waste
KSPCB Chairman PM Narendraswamy said that under the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) initiative, 1,407 plastic waste units are registered in the state, which includes 785 importers and 353 manufacturers.
For e-waste, he said 1,063 units are registered, which includes 973 manufacturers, 31 renovators, 49 recyclers and five manufacturers. Eleven units are registered as battery waste.
Published – 18 Nov 2025 21:05 IST
