CSE-DTE at Ottawa: Regulating types of plastic products in Indian market is crucial to improve recycling
Plastic pollution has emerged as an urgent global challenge, requiring immediate action. The world has already convened to discuss an international treaty aimed at tackling plastic pollution throughout the entire life cycle of plastic.
The fourth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee of the United Nations General Assembly commenced on April 23 in Ottawa, Canada.
India’s plastic predicament
With a population exceeding 1.4 billion and rapid urbanisation trends, India faces the daunting task of managing its significant plastic waste output. According to Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) annual report for 2020-2021, the country generates an astonishing 4.12 million tonnes of plastic waste annually. From bustling cities to remote villages, plastic has infiltrated every aspect of daily life, raising serious concerns about its environmental impact.
In response to this growing crisis, India has launched a series of initiatives to address plastic pollution. These measures include bans on specific single-use plastics and extended producer responsibility (EPR) for plastic packaging. However, despite these efforts, the scale of the challenge remains considerable.
Central to India’s strategy for reducing plastic pollution is enhancing its plastic recycling capabilities. Recycling offers a sustainable way to reduce the burden of plastic waste by repurposing used plastics into valuable resources. In recent years, India has made notable progress in bolstering its plastic recycling infrastructure, establishing recycling plants and promoting recycling awareness among the public.
Mechanical recycling, comprising primary and secondary recycling, is a key method for recycling plastic waste. This process transforms pre-consumer and post-consumer plastic waste into secondary plastic material, allowing it to re-enter the product ecosystem.
Additionally, tertiary recycling or chemical recycling, provides an alternative approach in which plastic waste is converted into oil, gas, or other components through chemical processes, enabling its use as fuel.
Progress and challenges in plastic recycling
India’s strategy to combat plastic pollution relies on improving its recycling capabilities. Although the country has made progress in expanding recycling infrastructure and raising public awareness, challenges persist.
Limited infrastructure, inadequate collection systems and a lack of awareness hinder recycling efforts, with only 13 per cent of plastic waste undergoing mechanical recycling, 9.37 per cent being co-processed, 0.12 per cent subjected to pyrolysis and 3.57 per cent processed through other methods, according to CPCB data.
The rest of the waste, 3.01 million tonnes of plastic, is unaccounted for — it may be managed by the informal sector, end up in a landfill, or enter various environmental compartments, such as rivers, contributing to marine litter.
Techniques adopted for recycling and disposal of plastic waste
Source: CPCB plastic waste management annual report 2020-2021
The current levels of recycling suggest that plastic recycling may not be the ultimate solution we have long been told it is. In fact, over the past decade, many products introduced into the Indian market are not designed to be recyclable and lack value or linkages within formal and informal recycling systems.
This has resulted in an increasing amount of waste requiring end-of-life disposal options such as waste-to-energy and co-processing.
Need to look beyond recycling and end of life disposal
To move towards improved recycling, it’s critical to regulate the type of plastic products placed on the Indian market. Sector-wise production data within the country is limited. By addressing this, it’s possible to conduct a detailed analysis of plastic usage across various sectors, allowing for the identification of areas of unnecessary consumption and enabling proactive reduction measures.
The EPR portal attempts to address this for the packaging sector, but plastics are also widely used in many other sectors such as textiles, medicine, construction, aviation, and so on. To overcome these challenges and pave the way for a sustainable future, India must devise a comprehensive roadmap that encompasses enhanced product design while improving its recycling resilience.
A key priority is to address the proliferation of recycling facilities that produce secondary plastics. Mechanical recycling, both in formal and informal setups, not only compromises the quality of recycled products but also raises concerns about their suitability for further use, especially for food contact applications.
Regulation and oversight are crucial to streamline the recycling ecosystem and ensure compliance with quality standards.
The country has made strides in advancing its policy on plastic waste management over the last few years. In 2022, India permitted the use of recycled plastic for food-grade applications, subject to approval from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).
Currently, FSSAI has allowed the use of PET bottles for packaging drinking water; however, in practice, most existing PET bottles are recycled to make textiles — a market that has evolved over the last couple of decades.
If recycled plastic is to be used for food-grade applications, adherence to standards for secondary plastics is essential, alongside efforts to increase the low recycling rate.
Prioritising circular economy principles — where resources are reduced, used, reused, recycled and repurposed — offers a promising pathway to mitigating plastic pollution.