Abstract
In
India, there is a growing demand for sustainable packaging made of paper, jute,
cloth, bagasse and compostable plastic. New age packaging materials are
lightweight, durable and versatile but despite their ubiquitous presence and
the critical role they play in our daily lives there is always a need to do
more and more given the kind of growth India is witnessing. If compostable
plastics or a totally new innovation is introduced in the market today, it
would be a game changer and a breakthrough which has been in the waiting for
quite a long time now. A panacea material of sorts which is cheap, durable,
flexible, light yet strong and which can be utilized in a multitude of ways
possible with packaging materials in use today. There are systemic challenges
in managing packaging waste due to a host of factors but it can be addressed
through innovations in collection mechanism and in recycling techniques.
Sources of Packaging Waste
Among
sources of various kinds of packaging wastes organized retail, unorganized
retail, household, MSW and waste trade network contribute the majority to the
solid waste streams. Other sources include factory discards and industrial
packaging wastes. Paper, Paperboard, Glass and Plastics contribute the most to
the packaging waste.
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Sources of Packaging WasteThe Present Scenario
Ministry
of Petroleum and Natural gas suggests that the annual per capita consumption of
plastic in India would be 20 kgs by 2022. In terms of contribution, the total
Solid waste pie contains 8% Plastic packaging material, with Delhi producing
the maximum quantity followed by Kolkata and Ahmedabad. Currently, 65% of the
total plastic waste is being recycled and majority of it is contributed by
households. Around 43% of manufactured plastics are used for packaging purpose.
Challenges in Packaging waste Recycling
There
is an environment impact associated with almost all kinds of packaging
materials. Some are major energy guzzlers during the stage when they come to
life and thus generate more carbon footprint while others have greater
environment impact at the end of their life. Value chain analysis of various
packaging waste streams reveal that major challenges lay not in recycling but
in finding a value which is marketable and the product, which is at par with a
new or virgin material product. Design congruence, information symmetry,
material control and innovative business models are key to achieving a truly
circular economy.
Additionally,
the material mix is becoming complex thus not leading to old and simplistic
recycling mechanisms. With the packaging trends indicating faster R&D and
production cycles, recycling industry too needs to evolve and suitable and
efficient methods of recycling needs to be developed.
The current
regulatory framework is also evolving to the requirements of the Indian
context. The roles and responsibilities of municipal corporations, producers,
and brand owners are not clearly defined leading to multiplicity of efforts in
some areas and nil in others. A draft
national framework for EPR is in the works by MoEF&CC and it aims to
address the existing gaps in the regulations.
At a
time, when brands are becoming increasingly conscious of using the Post
Consumed Recycled (PCR) content in their product packaging, consumer expectation
and their liking towards aesthetically pleasing products is posing a big
challenge. Additionally technical and performance challenges in recycled
materials such as plastics limit their usage to a few areas only. For edible
items, recycled plastic in PET bottles or in other beverage containers is still
not allowed in India.
Even
with these constraints, brands are increasingly using recycled plastics and increasingly
using them in parts not visible to the customer with plans afoot to make
recycled plastic look much more similar to a virgin one. Dell has set a target
to use 100 mn pounds of recycled material in its products by 2021 while Philips
is betting on getting 15% of its total revenue from products which are
considered circular by 2020.
There
are challenges in collection and recycling of packaging waste such as lack of
value for some of the materials viz. Multi-layered plastics, beverage cartons
etc. , lack of recycling capacity and infrastructure, presence of a large
unorganized sector etc.
A successful case study of Carton Recycling in India
With
a proactive stance on sourcing FSC certified paper and a concern for the
environment, Beverage Carton recycling started 15 years back in India. Beverage
Carton recycling started ahead of the curve in 2003 despite no legislation
mandating to recycle post-consumer Beverage Cartons. At the very genesis of
recycling a beverage carton lies the core philosophy of re-utilizing the waste
packaging material to the maximum extent possible. Tetra Pak has been at the
forefront of promoting circular economy and is reusing the post-consumer
recycled content in various forms post recycling. Chip boards, carry bags,
classroom benches, roofing sheets are some of the end products which are being
produced by recycling in partnership with recyclers across the country. Additionally,
Pallets, chips and Kraft paper are some of the raw materials which feed further
into the plastic and paper industries.
Buoyed
by this success, Action Alliance for Recycling Beverage Cartons (AARC) was
formed as an initiative by the beverage industry to transform the beverage
carton recycling landscape in India by pooling resources to build an efficient
waste management ecosystem. It envisages this by engaging with waste pickers,
scrap dealers, waste management companies, recyclers and NGOs. The alliance
aims to increase recycling of used cartons from approximately 35% today to 60%
by 2025 and further build on the expertise and experience of Tetra Pak and
other members who are actively driving the collections like Dabur, Coca Cola,
Schreiber Dynamix Dairies etc. It is a strong platform that brings the industry
together with one common mission – of radically improving the recycling rates
and positively impacting millions engaged in the waste trade.
AARC,
through its members, will also work towards collaborating on the improved
material design aspects, institutionalization of proven and futuristic
recycling technologies and bring innovations and best practices in overall collection
and recycling ecosystem.
Few Futuristic Recycling Technologies and SolutionsChip board
Beverage
carton waste is being converted to chipboards which have high compression
strength, have high heat resistance and are non-toxic. The chip boards can be
formed into a variety of products ranging from furniture to stationary items
and are being used in a lot of imaginative ways possible.
Reinforced Construction Material
Reinforced
concrete is an innovative building material especially suited for effective
maintenance of existing structures or manufacturing new lightweight precast
members or as secondary building material as an aid in main building material.
Traditionally, AR-Glass, Basalt, Carbon and plastic have been utilized as the
primary reinforcing material but lab research has proved that beverage carton
can also be utilized as a reinforcing material and leads to formation of
concrete with similar properties as by using above virgin materials.
Fabric from Plastics
The
clothing industry is a heavy user of resources and an equally heavy polluter.
Industry needs enhance the recycling efforts by utilizing more and more of
waste packaging materials such as post-consumer plastic bottles which can be
converted into polyester. Polyester made of waste or recycled PET bottles has
several advantages over conventional polyester. It is environment friendly,
feels more natural and is good on skin.
Low Emissive Hydrocarbon Fuels
Erratic
supply, volatility in the fossil fuel prices and environment friendly policies
are leading to strategy changes in board rooms of major oil consuming nations.
Waste plastics are known to create huge damage to the environment and they are
not biodegradable. An attractive solution is to convert waste plastics to
low-emissive hydrocarbon fuel or plastic oil. Through thermal or catalytic
conversion process, better known as pyrolysis, the waste plastics can be
converted into hydrocarbon. Technologies have further been upgraded which can
produce hydrocarbon with zero discharge and zero effluents. With sulphur
contents almost negligible and the calorific value near perfect, it can be
utilized by industries using boiler, construction and mining industry and in
cement kilns. Polypropylene content in post-consumer plastics, PET bottles, 2
HDPE, 4 HDPE, 6 PS are some of the acceptable material to yield hydrocarbons
through pyrolysis process.
The Road Ahead
New
Packaging materials, efficient and minimal packaging design, “smart packaging”
solutions and increasing compostable content in the overall packaging segment
is making an increasing impact on the recyclability and reuse aspects.
Nanotechnology
can be used to create totally new materials for the packaging industry with the
potential of increasing the sustainability and recyclability of the materials.
Cellulose fibrilis is a completely new performance additive made from natural
raw materials and it is specially designed to outperform and replace oil-based
technologies. This innovative and path-breaking packaging material has the
potential to make packaging products tougher, lighter and thinner.
Improving
collection and recycling ecosystem is also an efficient way forward for getting
post consumer materials again into the value chain. AARC is working towards creating an efficient
ecosystem with the overall aim to increase the recycling rates of beverage
cartons from the current 35% to 60% by 2025. It intends to increase its
coverage to 25 cities from the current 13 cities and reach progressively
towards building more collection centers spread across Tier-I and Tier-II
cities of India. The program relies on Information, Education and Communication
components (IEC), strong collection ecosystem and an efficient and environment
friendly recycling.
Innovation
in packaging, more funds for sustainable projects and an overall commitment led
path is way forward by AARC and its industry members. This is real opportunity
for AARC and the government to demonstrate strong leadership and commitment
towards co-creating favorable policy frameworks, create a system of incentives
and penalties to drive accountability and collaboration with industry for
improved collection and recycling rates.
References
Roadmap
for Management of waste in India, Packaging waste management, retrieved on 5th
June 2019 from: http://www.delhi.gov.in/wps/wcm/connect/e727aa004eed8624abb3bbfe99daf05a/PACKAGING_WASTE_14.01.09.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&CACHEID=e727aa004eed8624abb3bbfe99daf05a
Packaging Recycling: Is this the sipping point? Retrieved on 8th
June 2019: https://www.packagingdigest.com/sustainable-packaging/packaging-recycling-is-this-the-sipping-point-2018-07-19
Few
products contain recycled plastics – are consumers part of the problem?
Retrieved on 5th July 2019 , https://www.theguardian.com/suez-circular-economy-zone/2017/jul/26/few-products-contain-recycled-plastics-are-consumers-part-of-the-problem
How pet bottles convert to
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Conversion of waste plastics into low-emissive hydrocarbon
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reactor, Retrieved on 10th July 2019, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40095-015-0167-z
Fact sheet on plastic waste in
India, Retrieved on 10th July 2019, http://www.teriin.org/sites/default/files/files/factsheet.pd
Key Strategies for Mainstreaming
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