The Nagar Panchayat recorded 32.58 tonnes of waste in 2023, 26.10 tonnes in 2024 and 21.40 tonnes in 2025. The 2026 total was reached in five months. Monthly figures rose from 1.7 tonnes in April to 16.3 tonnes in May, then stood at 11.5 tonnes in June, 10.5 tonnes in July and 10.3 tonnes in August.
The local authority’s response also put plastic waste generated so far this year at about 20 tonnes. It said 18.5 tonnes, or 92.5 per cent, had been processed, leaving approximately 1.5 tonnes. The Nagar Panchayat reported landfill capacity of 30,000 square feet, with 28,000 square feet remaining, and said four landfills had been built in Kedarnath over the past five years.
The information was disclosed after Amit Gupta, an RTI activist from Noida, Uttar Pradesh, requested the data. Gupta said the volume generated in only five months raised concerns about pressure on waste-management systems in an ecologically sensitive Himalayan area that receives large numbers of pilgrims and tourists.
The figures present a sharp increase against the annual totals listed for 2023 to 2025, while the reported plastic-processing rate indicates that most of the plastic collected so far this year has been treated. The available data does not specify how the remaining waste is divided among recycling, processing and landfill disposal.
Kedarnath’s visitor numbers and waste totals put the capacity of local collection and disposal systems under scrutiny. The Nagar Panchayat’s figures cover April to August; they do not provide a full-year total for 2026.