How innovations bring wealth out of plastic waste
India is facing a serious environmental problem, with over 3.4 million tonnes of plastic waste produced annually. Unfortunately, only 30-40 per cent of this waste is recycled, resulting in a huge 60-70 per cent ending up in landfills, incinerators, or the environment, where it can persist for hundreds of years. The situation is alarming and highlights India’s urgent need to tackle the global issue of plastic pollution.
To address this crisis, India has implemented a two-pronged approach, based on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), guided by SDG 12, which emphasises responsible consumption and production as it seeks to reduce plastic waste and promote sustainable alternatives. EPR mandates that manufacturers take responsibility for the plastic waste generated during production.
Therefore, innovators are making impactful contributions to mitigate the impact of plastic pollution and promote circularity in the plastics industry. Through cutting-edge recycling and packaging solutions, waste-to-energy endeavours, and advocacy, a select bunch of startups, such as Sea6 Energy, BINTIX, and Ishtiva Robotic Systems, are contributing to the broader effort to reduce plastic pollution, promote sustainability, and nudge India towards embracing a more circular economy.
The need for circularity: A circular economy model entails reducing waste and encouraging the reuse, repair, refurbishment, or recycling of products and materials. This efficient, environmentally friendly approach can lead to long-term benefits. However, stakeholders must proactively introduce steady changes in industries that pose challenges towards adopting circularity, particularly in sectors like plastics, which produce significant amounts of non-biodegradable and potentially harmful waste.
The practical implementation of a circular approach within the plastics industry requires a comprehensive understanding of its operations and a commitment to embracing scalable solutions. It is based on a set of fundamental principles. Firstly, choosing raw materials and production processes that minimise toxins, conserve resources, and safeguard local ecosystems is crucial.
Secondly, creating behaviour change and awareness at a citizen level regarding proper practices for sorting, disposing of and recycling plastics at home is essential. This empowers individuals with knowledge and drives responsible plastic management that can be catalysed from the grassroots.
Lastly, optimising the logistics of plastic waste collection, sorting and recycling while concurrently reducing reliance on land and water-based waste disposal is pivotal. This approach not only enhances efficiency but also reduces the impact of plastic waste management on the environment.
While, theoretically, such principles enable collaboration with stakeholders such as recyclers, manufacturers, brand owners and civic bodies, there are on-ground challenges in the plastic value chain that act as a hurdle to achieving circularity.
Hurdles to circularity: The transition towards a circular economy presents various challenges that demand our attention. The lack of efficient waste segregation and collection at its source increases recycling costs. The need for technological solutions to process low-quality, unsorted plastic waste also compounds these issues. The logistical hurdles in waste collection and transportation create additional complexity.
Embracing circular practices thus requires significant initial investments and increased operational expenses due to heightened energy consumption, chemical usage, and rising greenhouse gas emissions. There is a glaring obstacle of inadequate funding, with the Marico Innovation Foundation’s ‘Innovations in Plastics’ report revealing that circular economy startups in India received only $6 million in funding in 2021, highlighting the unequal distribution of financial resources in this sector.
Occupational waste collection and recycling hazards, such as releasing cancer-causing dioxins, pose significant health risks. The absence of regulatory and market-based mechanisms hinders the operation of circular business models. For example, the need for more taxes on improper waste disposal and incentives for recycling exacerbates these challenges. Furthermore, the fluctuating costs of raw materials for bio-based or recycled plastics complicate matters by directly affecting profitability. Addressing these issues through strategic investment, regulatory reforms, and market incentives is essential to pave the way for a sustainable and circular plastic economy.
New age solutions to the fore: The journey towards a circular economy for plastics requires the collaboration of stakeholders from all industry segments. Government intervention and consumer engagement are equally crucial as industry-driven innovation. Government actions, such as stringent regulations against plastic waste and policies prioritising sustainable alternatives, motivate the plastics industry to explore renewable products. Similarly, informed and engaged consumers are vital to the success of sustainable product options. This collaborative effort offers a means to address our environmental challenges and significant economic opportunities. A few critical areas of investment are as follows:
Bioplastics: These versatile plastics are derived from renewable resources and have a lower carbon footprint. They are crucial in reducing our dependence on finite fossil fuels and finding applications across diverse industries. Global production capacity is expected to reach 7 million tonnes by 2026, a significant increase from 2.41 million tonnes in 2021. Pioneering startups like Sea6 Energy use tropical seaweed to produce bioplastics, showcasing their potential in advancing circularity goals.
New recycling techniques: In India, only 30 per cent of the annual 3.4 million tonnes of plastic waste produced is recycled. While investment in recycling methods, including catalysts, biorefineries, and reactors, is imperative, a few innovators are leveraging advanced technologies such as Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning to transform plastic waste management. Take Ishitva Robotic Systems, for instance, which has developed an AI-powered sorting machine that can process and sort up to six tonnes of waste per hour and at a 50 per cent lower cost than international counterparts, thereby reducing the amount of waste destined for landfills or incineration.
Leveraging data: Harnessing the potential of data and artificial intelligence in waste management can lead to smarter and more efficient solutions. Waste management companies can enhance their operations by analysing waste generation and collection patterns data. Notably, initiatives like BINTIX, a data-driven door-to-door household waste collection service, optimise collection routes based on consumer patterns. This reduces unnecessary pick-ups, cuts fuel consumption and has prevented the release of 5.5 million kilograms of CO2 into the atmosphere, while supporting plastic awareness campaigns.
Towards a circular future: Indian start-ups hold significant promise in addressing gaps within the country’s waste management ecosystem, positioning themselves as key players in driving innovation and contributing to the circular economy. These start-ups bring fresh perspectives and the potential for large-scale implementation of innovative solutions.
However, a critical obstacle they face is the need for robust financial support from the government and the private sector. Adequate financing will enable startups to expend valuable time and energy pursuing essential resources for product testing, idea pitching, and establishing operations.
To bridge this support gap and facilitate the growth of these startups, innovation-focused platforms and enablers play a pivotal role. Through initiatives designed to foster the development of technologies, enable innovators, expand reach, provide market access, and support deployment, such organisations ensure that startups and innovator-entrepreneurs are well-prepared to lead India towards a circular future.
By collaborating with major stakeholders, including the government and the plastics industry, these organisations create an environment conducive to innovation and deployment of technologies at scale.
Such collaborative efforts allow start-ups to focus on core areas of transformative change within the waste management sector, ultimately empowering them to fulfil their potential and contribute to a more efficient and sustainable circular economy in India.