Asia’s first Plastics Pact: India’s industry unites with WWF and WRAP for circular economy boost

07 Sep 2021 --- India has become the first Asian country to launch a plastics pact. The Plastics Pact for Asia brings together WWF India and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) with a shared goal to make all plastic packaging reusable or recyclable by 2030. 

The Pact is supported by UK-based NGO WRAP and funded by UK Research & Innovation, with further funding to support the program’s delivery provided by Stewart Investors.

The India Plastics Pact officially launched at CII’s annual Sustainability Summit in New Delhi this month. The Pact will address plastic pollution through direct action across four key 2030 targets:

• Define a list of unnecessary or problematic plastic packaging and items and take measures to address them through redesign and innovation.
• 100 percent of plastic packaging to be reusable or recyclable.
• 50 percent of plastics packaging to be effectively recycled.
• 25 percent average recycled content across all plastic packaging.

“It is hugely significant to have such a strategically important force in the region and on the global stage on board with its own Plastics Pact,” comments Marcus Gover, WRAP’s CEO.

“The potential environmental and economic benefits to be gleaned from achieving the Pact’s ambitious goals are enormous for India. We have been able to bring all the learning and expertise we have amassed from supporting Plastics Pacts around the world to CII and WWF-India.”India generates 9.46 million metric tons of plastic waste every year.

A sizeable single-use problem
The Pact brings together leading businesses from across the Indian plastics value chain to tackle plastic pollution by moving to a circular plastics system keeping material in the economy and out of the environment.

According to the organizations, India generates 9.46 million metric tons of plastic waste annually, of which 40 percent goes uncollected. Moreover, nearly half of all plastic used in India is for packaging, mostly single-use.

A total of 27 businesses and supporting organizations joined the India Plastics Pact as founding members, including major FMCG brands, manufacturers, retailers and recyclers such as Tata Consumer Products, Amazon, Hindustan Unilever, Coca Cola India, Mondelez, Godrej, Marico and ITC.

In July 2020, Amazon announced the elimination of all single-use plastic packaging across its more than 50 fulfillment centers in India. The e-commerce giant has replaced air pillows and bubble wrap with paper cushions and adopted 100 percent plastic-free, biodegradable paper tapes, delivering on a pledge to eradicate single-use plastic by June 2020.

Last month, Finnish cleantech startup RiverRecycle launched a collection unit for plastic debris in India’s Mithi River. The project was funded by Huhtamaki, which donated €600,000 (US$707,000) as part of its commitments to tackle packaging waste in marine environments.

Plastic pacts stack up
The Plastics Pact for Asia is the latest pact to join a growing list of pacts that WRAP is helping to set up and support into delivery, pioneered by The UK Plastics Pact.

Almost half of all plastic used in India is for packaging, and mostly single-use.These pacts include plastics pacts in Europe, the US, Canada, South Africa and Chile, all working toward “a shared vision of a world where plastic is valued and does not pollute the environment.”

The UK Plastics Pact has demonstrated significant progress. In December 2020, WRAP reported its members had increased their plastic packaging recycling rates to 50 percent and cut 40 percent of “unnecessary” plastic packaging.

A global cooperation
WRAP’s international work on plastics covers more than 40 countries across all major continents. With support from the UK government, private sector and philanthropic trusts, WRAP is working with national and international partners, including the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, to tackle plastic pollution.

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation recently released a white paper detailing its position on establishing a UN treaty to address global plastic pollution and transition to a circular economy for plastics.

India’s next steps
Following the launch of the Plastics Pact for Asia, WRAP will work with CII and WWF-India on the following key actions:

• Drawing up the delivery roadmap.
• Initiating action groups to support the targets.
• Scoping out the reporting process to develop a baseline.
• Driving recruitment.

Arvind Wable, WWF India’s president, remarks: “The India Plastics Pact provides a strong platform for Indian businesses to drive actionable, sustainable solutions and accelerate the transition toward a circular economy.”

Seema Arora, CII’s deputy director general, adds: “Innovation, collaboration and voluntary commitments contextualized for India and led by Indian companies via the India Plastics Pact will help the transition to a circular economy for plastics.”

In India-based packaging innovation, Dow Packaging and Specialty Plastics and Indian film manufacturer Vishakha Group extended the shelf life of wheat products through a new recyclable barrier film earlier this year.

By Joshua Poole