Plastic-free planet: India’s polymer problem can be tackled if its street vendors switch to reusables, says study

Plastic waste would be reduced substantially and several new jobs would be created if Indian street food vendors transition to reusable materials, a new study released on the sidelines of the just-concluded third session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-3) in Nairobi has noted.

For instance, if 80,000 street food vendors in Kolkata were to transition to reusables, plastic waste would reduce by more than 86 per cent and over 2,250 jobs would be created.

The switch will also give a return on investment of 21 per cent and a payback period of 2.3 years, the study titled Economics of Reuse for street vendors in India said.

The solutions-based report was worked on by three groups from different parts of the world namely Zero Waste Europe, Searious Business and National Hawkers Federation (NHF). Zero Waste Europe and the NHF represent Break Free From Plastic, a global movement against plastic pollution.

Searious Business is a Netherlands-based company working towards the goal of zero plastics entering our ocean. NHF — championing the rights of street vendors— had played a key role in the passage of the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014.  

The report was released in New Delhi on November 20. The launch was attended by members of NHF, along with members of civil society.

INC-3 took place from November 13 to 19, 2023.

The study suggested that in Delhi — another baseline city after Kolkata considered for the study — the transition of 99,000 street food vendors to a reusable system would be even more economically favourable, thanks to the economies of scale.

The report observed that the use of reusable steel instead of reusable plastic can be profitable. However, at the same time, it points out the limitations — a requirement of higher deposit to compensate for the increased initial cost of steel.

Read DTE Coverage: INC-3 meeting in Nairobi

The study goes on to point out that single-use plastic consumption exploded in recent years, leading to a global crisis impacting nature, people, and the climate.

“Over 99 per cent of plastics are made of fossil fuels. If the plastic industry was a country, it would have ranked to be the fifth largest greenhouse gas emitter worldwide,” highlighted the study.

‘India’s Nairobi stance weak’

The report highlighted India’s plastic problem. Willemijn Peeters, chief executive of Searious Business, was quoted as saying in the report: “The numbers in India are so astronomical that it’s hard to visualise. So many vendors, so many people, so much packaging. If there is a compelling business case for reusable packaging in such a complex scenario, it can work anywhere. It’s simple, reuse adds up.”

The NHF members at the meeting did not seem happy with the position the Indian delegation took at INC-3 — of opposing the cap on production segment in the initially proposed Zero Draft policy on plastic production.

At the event, India positioned itself between high-ambition and low-ambition countries. A coverage of the seven-day INC-3 proceedings by Down To Earth (DTE) found that India opposed cuts on primary plastic production while supporting weaker provisions on chemicals of concern and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR).

EPR for plastic packaging was introduced in India in 2022. It covers businesses that introduce plastic packaging in the Indian market like producers of plastic packaging, importers of plastic packaging and products packaged in plastics, and the brand owners.  

At the event, panelists Sandeep Verma, convenor of NHF’s Delhi unit and Satyarupa Shekhar, an independent plastic activist talked about their demands. “What we are requesting at this report’s launch event is that the Indian government takes a strong position on primary polymer production instead of the stand it took at the global plastic event. Its stance seemed to be in alignment with oil major countries like Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Iran, Russian Federation as well as the US, China, Cuba, among a few others,” they told DTE.

“India, in its amendment proposal during INC-3, stated that it needs no over-emphasis that plastics are useful materials and the INC should address the pollution caused by plastic, which needs to be addressed. Accordingly, there must be no binding targets / cap on the production of plastic polymers. This was not a strong stand,” the panelists said.

NHF also demanded a just transition for street vendors from single-use plastics to reuse systems.

Saktiman Ghosh, general secretary of NHF, said: “Street vendors face the hazards of climate change every day and clearly understand the role of plastics in the triple threats of climate, biodiversity, and pollution. We wholeheartedly embrace reuse systems and ask the Government of India to provide an enabling regulatory framework and infrastructure.”

Shekhar, meanwhile, also pointed to the glaring mismatch between the pledges made by the world’s top plastic polluters and their actions. “The Global Commitment 5 Years In 2023 Report shows how FMCGs have failed to bring down virgin plastic use meaningfully, making little to no progress to expand reuse,” she said.

“Unilever and Nestle repeatedly say that reuse is economically prohibitive, but we now have Indian street vendors make the best business case for large scale reuse systems — at a fraction of the marketing budgets of these FMCGs,” she added.

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