Agra Footwear Industry Generates 45 Tonne Waste Every Day, Poses Big Challenge: CSE Study

Patna: Agra -- the famous city of Taj Mahal in Uttar Pradesh – a footwear manufacturing hub, caters to 65% of domestic demand, generates 45 tonnes of waste every day, posing a huge environmental challenge, says a new study by Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), a New Delhi-based think-tank.

Such a large amount of daily waste has opened up a new front in the city’s struggle against environmental pollution and ecological mayhem.

“Agra’s claim to fame also rests on the city being the largest footwear manufacturing hub in India. Catering to about 65 per cent of India’s domestic demand, the city churns out 0.9 to one million pairs of footwear every day. Such a scale of production comes with its own set of challenges – the city produces about 45 tonnes of footwear waste in a day”, the CSE report said.

This is in addition to 978 tonnes of municipal solid waste generated every day, comprising wet, dry, domestic hazardous and sanitary wastes.

According to the report, Agra has 6,821 footwear manufacturing units – both formal and informal.

“Typically, footwear waste includes a very diverse range of waste items from leather, textile (polyester, viscose), synthetic polymers (polyvinyl chloride, ethyl vinyl acetate (EVA), styrene butadiene rubber (SBR), polyurethane (PU) and thermoplastic elastomers), hazardous wastes (foam soaked in adhesive solution), cardboard, metal and fines. Of the total quantum of footwear waste generated, over 31 tonne per day is contributed by the formal manufacturing industries; more than 13 tonne comes from the informal manufacturers who run their businesses from homes,” said Kuldeep Choudhary, programme officer and the lead author of the CSE report.

Abhikaam Singh Pippal, president of the Juta Dastkar Federation, said, “We must understand the challenges faced by home-based shoe manufacturing units. Their working capital is very small and they operate in very small areas with limited space for storage of discarded footwear waste. We welcome initiatives for capacity building of these units to enable them to operate an integrated waste management facility. The Agra Municipal Corporation (AMC) and CSE may jointly facilitate such a process. We need support from the government to provide advanced machines for these units to reduce their waste generation.”

Atin Biswas, programme director of CSE’s Solid Waste Management and Circular Economy unit, said: “CSE has been working closely with the Agra Municipal Corporation to devise solutions for managing the historic city’s municipal waste. As part of this association, CSE undertook this year-long research to assess the ground reality of footwear waste management in Agra.”

Biswas added: “The CSE team mapped manufacturing units, estimated footwear waste generation, did characterisation studies to quantify the presence of different footwear waste fractions in terms of quantity and percentage, determined their calorific values, gained an understanding of current management and disposal practices and explored potential solutions. The result is this comprehensive report – Footwear Waste Management in Agra: A Ground Assessment.”

The report says that AMC is able to collect about 57% of the footwear waste generated by the home-based informal sector; the remaining 43% is littered across the city in drains and open spaces or event burnt. The formal manufacturing units have reportedly tied up with formal and informal waste dealers and management professionals to manage their waste.

“The larger share of Agra's footwear industry is informal in nature and operates under challenging conditions, but this presents a unique opportunity to uplift these communities. By providing financial aid, hands-on support in transitioning to sustainable practices, and raising awareness about the impact of poor waste management, we can foster positive change. Many organisations working on the ground with
right kind of support from the government, can play a crucial role in driving this transformation towards a more sustainable future,” said Choudhary.

Biswas said: “Considering the scale of production and footwear waste generation in Agra, special mechanisms including additional funding and infrastructure must be provided to help the municipal corporation manage this waste. More research is needed to explore the recycling-reuse-repurpose potential of the footwear waste fractions to create a business ecosystem.”

The CSE report has recommended a that comprehensive database (inventory) of all footwear manufacturing units in Agra (both formal and informal) be made and all units be geotagged and registered. The existing bye-laws need to be amended to address footwear waste management, covering aspects like collection, transportation, processing, disposal, fines and penalty clauses.

It further stressed the need to implement strict monitoring and enforcement mechanisms to penalise units that dispose of waste improperly, such as dumping in drains, open plots or unauthorised areas.

The report also called for developing protocols for managing hazardous waste. Promote the reuse of footwear waste materials to create other products (such as keychains or doormats) and support upcycling projects through self-help groups or local industries.

The writer is a freelance journalist based in Patna, Bihar.