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A roadmap to significantly reduce plastic waste in India was released today. CSIRO is working with the Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (CSIR-NEERI), Development Alternatives and the University of New South Wales and the University's Institute for Sustainable Futures of Technology Sydney.
The National Circular Economy Roadmap for Reducing Plastic Waste in India outlines future paths to improving the repair, reuse and recycling of India's plastic waste.
The key results of the roadmap show that by 2035:
- Two thirds of all plastics used could be recycled
- Single-use plastics could be phased out gradually
- Converting plastic waste into resources could result in 20-50% fewer greenhouse gas emissions
- The air quality would improve
India is one of the largest polymer producers. It generates nearly 26,000 tons of plastic waste every day, more than any other economy except the United States and the European Union. Currently, a large proportion of plastic waste ends up in landfills or enters the environment.
Heinz Schandl, who leads the CSIRO's Circular Economy for Missions initiative, said building a circular economy in India would create value from plastic waste and prevent it from polluting the environment.
“The results of the roadmap suggest that by 2035, two-thirds of all plastics used could be recycled and single-use plastics could be phased out, leading to a significant reduction in waste ending up in landfills and the environment,” said Schandl.
“The roadmap also shows that diverting plastic waste into resources would lead to a cleaner environment with 20-50% fewer greenhouse gas emissions and improved air quality.”
The roadmap highlights strategies to achieve this goal, including investments in infrastructure, improved recyclability, consistent compliance with regulations, increased commercial viability of technologies, use of secondary materials, sustainable consumption and circular design and production to reduce waste.
Dr. Rita Dhodapkar from CSIR – National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) said the exchange of expertise between Australia and India will drive advances in science and technology to expand the use of plastic materials.
“India is aware of the scale and complexity of the plastic waste problem and its connection to global ocean plastic pollution and global warming concerns,” Dhodapkar said.
“India, like Australia, is striving to reduce plastic waste by driving innovation and enabling new circular economy designs, technologies and business models to achieve this goal.”
“The roadmap highlights challenges and opportunities to enable new growth industries and employment in an economy without plastic waste.”
The roadmap is the result of three years of collaborative research between Indian and Australian partners, including collaboration with Indian industry, government and community stakeholders.
Simran Talwar from the UTS Institute for Sustainable Futures, who contributed to the report, said plastic waste is a global problem and only through collective efforts can we tackle plastic waste.
“Leveraging the expertise of both countries, this roadmap provides a comprehensive overview of the entire plastics value chain and recommendations for a circular economy for plastics in India.”
“We have traced the current successes and urgent needs of the Indian plastics industry and used the roadmap to chart a path for the transition to a circular economy. This will address environmental issues and promote positive economic outcomes.”
The roadmap will help the Indian government and industry associations respond to the requirements of the United Nations Global Plastics Treaty, which is expected to be implemented by 2024. The roadmap was created as part of a comprehensive strategic partnership between Australia and India.
This research is aligned with CSIRO's Ending Plastic Waste mission, which aims to change the way we make, use, recycle and dispose of plastic waste, and the Circular Economy for Missions initiative aims to embed circular economy principles across all CSIRO research areas.
More information:
Roadmap and summary report: Research.csiro.au/circularecon … stic-waste-in-india/
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