Page 22 - Plastics News January 2021

FeAtures

Plastic Waste digital solutions. Both these companies with Circulate
Capital’s support aims to enhance its offering by
Global Scenario: producing larger quantities of recycled material to higher
Over 8.3 billion tonnes of plastic has been produced since specifications that allow for new product applications, and
1950, and about 60% of that has ended up in landfills reach more markets to build a complete digital ecosystem.
or in the natural environment. Only 9% of all plastic On the other hand both Deeya Panel Products (Ricron)
waste ever produced has been recycled and about 12 and Dalmia Polypro Industries (Dalmia) shall focus on
percent has been incinerated, while the remaining 79% innovation and technology in their domains with the
has accumulated in landfills, dumps or the natural investments in place.
environment. Plastic waste, whether in a river, an ocean, Connections to Corporate Partners
or on land can persist in the environment for centuries,
hence by 2050, the amount of plastic in seas and oceans The latest Indian companies to receive investments
across the world will weigh more than the fish. have been on Circulate Capital’s radar for some time.
Kaplan explained that they are leaders in their industry,
Indian Scenario: and almost all have business relationships or potential
India currently generates around 26,000 tonnes of plastic relationships with Circulate Capital’s corporate partners,
waste every day and over 10,000 tonnes of which is not which include Chanel, Chevron Phillips Chemical, Danone,
collected. India’s per capita plastic consumption of less Dow, PepsiCo, Procter & Gamble, The Coca-Cola Co. and
than 11 kg, is nearly a tenth of the United States of Unilever. Kaplan noted that institutional investors are
America (109 kg). For India, bringing plastic waste back “sitting on the sidelines” when it comes to putting money
into the supply chain could bring annual benefits of Rs.40 into the circular economy in south and Southeast Asia.
lakh crore in 2050. Meanwhile, many of these Indian recycling companies have
access to bank loans that can finance incremental growth,
Global as well as Indian Government’s Interventions:
but Circulate Capital is able to provide enough support
The Group of 20 (G20) environment ministers, agreed to to allow them to grow exponentially, he said. Circulate
adopt a new implementation framework for actions to Capital’s investments took the form of purchasing
tackle the issue of marine plastic waste on a global scale. ownership stakes, in contrast to its investment in Indonesia

Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016 state that that took the form of a low-interest loan. For regulatory
every local body has to be responsible for setting up reasons, it’s difficult to provide debt investments in
infrastructure for segregation, collection, processing, India, Kaplan said, although Circulate Capital is working
and disposal of plastic waste. Plastic Waste Management to obtain government approvals to make them easier. In
(Amendment) Rules 2018 introduced the concept addition to providing the companies with money, Circulate
Capital brings a connection to the corporate partners, and
of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR).
the firm helps the recycling companies develop and test
EPR is a policy approach under which producers are given business plans and learn the skills they’ll need, he said.
a significant financial and physical responsibility (with Some of that hands-on work has been necessitated by
respect to segregation and collection of waste at the the coronavirus pandemic, which has “had a tremendous
source) for the treatment or disposal of post-consumer impact on the recycling value chain in the region,” Kaplan
products. A new national framework on plastic waste said.
management is in the works, which will introduce third- In India, the informal sector plays a large role in the
party audits as part of the monitoring mechanism. recycling industry. When lockdowns went into effect, in
many communities, waste and recycling wasn’t considered
Ongoing Initiatives in India: an essential service, Kaplan noted, meaning many informal
Currently, ‘Alliance to End Plastic Waste’ is working on sector workers who rely on trading scrap plastics to make
the Project Aviral which aims to reduce plastic waste in a living couldn’t work. That disrupted collection for the
the river Ganga companies in Circulate Capital’s portfolio. Meanwhile,

Aviral seeks to pilot an approach to address waste those companies were also affected by logistics
management challenges. In particular, it will focus on disruptions. Circulate Capital met with the companies to
strengthening an integrated plastic waste management revisit business plans to build in flexibility and scale back
system. projects and investments, Kaplan said.

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