Globally, one of the most daunting challenges today is the impact of plastic waste on our environment, health, and economy. An astounding portion of plastic produced annually pollutes our water bodies, landfills, and natural habitats. Keerthana Sundar, Special Correspondent, Clean India Journal, interacted with Garima Kaushik, Head, ICWMR, Teri School of Advanced Studies, and Bhagyashree Jain, Founder, The Disposal Company to better understand our current scenario and future sustainable goals to mitigate the plastic crises.
There are myriad challenges in plastic waste management which primarily stem from the high durability and slow degradation rate of plastics, causing them to persist in the environment for hundreds of years. Additionally, multiple types and grades of plastic that are incompatible with each other complicate the recycling process. There is an evident mismatch in the economic models of production and consumption of plastic, which discourages the maintenance and development of a circular economy as the cost of virgin plastic is often more economical compared to recycled plastic. However, solutions to mitigate plastic waste crisis are gathering steam as innovations pour in from multiple sectors.
Improved recycling technologies are being tested to increase efficiency and accommodate different types of plastic. Worldwide, governments and other affiliated and non-affiliated organizations are using a multi-pronged approach by implementing policies and initiatives to reduce plastic production and consumption, promote recycling, and encourage the shift towards a circular economy. Public awareness campaigns are useful in changing consumer behaviour and reducing plastic use, says Garima Kaushik. A holistic and collaborative effort is needed to tackle the plastic waste menace and ensure a more sustainable future for our planet.
Segregating plastic at the source provides for better quality, pricing, and value for the specific type of plastic. Infrastructure development to handle plastic waste management has to rapidly improve. A plastic recycler looks at the economic viability of recycled plastic and this hampers the collection of low-value plastic waste. Therefore, infrastructure and technology need to improve along with research and there is still a considerable way to go for India, explains Bhagyashree Jain.
Construction of roads using plastic, bricks using plastic waste, recycled plastic boards, benches, cloth-like nylon from plastic. A lot of technologies work well on the pilot scale but when scaled up it falters as there is a mismatch in the category, quality, and quantity of plastic.
Municipalities, corporations, and other businesses are coming together to tap into the plastic waste sector. Businesses need to audit their waste generation to understand the kind and quantity of plastic and how best to develop strategies to use them effectively.
Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is a strategy where all the estimated environmental costs associated with a specific product for the entire product life cycle are added to the market price of that product, and this is predominantly applied in the field of waste management.
EPR is a good model but currently caters to companies located in urban areas. It is logistically beneficial and a good quantity of plastic waste is generated. Rural areas mirror the consumption and waste generation pattern of urban areas. PR marketing and customer loyalty are exponential when a brand is sustainable.
This directly translates into companies today having to change operations, including looking into their entire supply chain, switching current packaging material into eco-friendly options to comply with EPR, and avoiding the levy of hefty fines.
Incentivizing corporates and industries along with healthy policies introduced in rural areas could contribute significantly to stymieing the accumulation of plastic waste. Internationally a lot of countries have signed a plastic treaty and have joined hands to work towards a common goal of effective plastic waste management. Marine plastic waste has received a lot of focus across the globe.
It is heartening to see popular soft drink brands invest in changing their packaging to either plastic-free or using waste to make them more recyclable. This has a significant impact on the dumping of waste. A mindset for change coupled with technological advances would greatly benefit developing countries. Adoption rates of segregation systems are dismal in developing countries.
In terms of recycling in India today, there are two verticals: mechanical and chemical recycling. The mechanical method is downcycling when we convert different types of plastics into granules.
Today, this method is not being utilized in a circular format as the industries generating plastic waste are not reusing the converted product. It is diverted to a subset of subsidiary industries and hence there is a lot of scope for improvement.
Chemical recycling is at a nascent stage where innovative technologies are contributing to the production of fuels that are being used for the manufacture of polyester yarn, and waste clothes from plastic.
GST reduction on the adoption of recycling materials would greatly benefit Indian companies and this in turn help our dream of switching to a circular economy. The promotion of subsidies for the research and development of innovative packaging by our Indian government could greatly benefit the plastic waste management sector.
A reduction in the pricing and purchase of recycled plastic on par with virgin plastic would significantly benefit the industry, especially the start-up ecosystem in the recycling space. There is a lot of push for renewable energy but the recycling space lacks this as it is resource-intensive. Hence, more support for start-ups and factories would be beneficial.