Page 49 - Plastics News September 2026
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FEATURE NEWS
On Our Way For Becoming Plastic-Neutral In A Phased Manner
most of the consumer companies, on average,
spend 5-8 per cent of their revenues on pack-
aging, while still heavily relying on plastics. Their
assessment is based on relative overall revenue-
based exposure of companies to five key vari-
ables: plastic, transparent plastic, food-grade
plastic, flexible plastic, and multi-layered plastic
(MLP).
On the other hand, consumer companies are al-
ready working to reduce plastic packaging. A
growing number of consumer goods firms are
ost-consumer recycling has become in- claiming to be “plastic neutral” in India. Many
creasingly popular world over with more among the FMCG leaders have stopped using
Pand more companies investing in facilities plastic for all promotional material since 2020 in
for recycling post-consumer plastic waste. their efforts for adhering to the PWM.
Many of them over the years have increased the
Packaging is one of the key focus areas to be
focused for reducing post-consumer plastic use of environmentally friendly packaging mate-
waste. Most of the FMCG companies use plas- rials, collaborating with independent plastic recy-
clers to manufacture recycled packaging materi-
tics for packaging. Under the new Plastic Waste als and reduce the use of virgin materials. Others
Management (PWM) rules, India will implement have established separate subsidiaries to secure
mandatory norms for the recycling and reuse packaging components. Plastic, one of the most
of plastic content for producers, importers, and lightweight protective materials, is widely used
brand owners of plastic packaging (excluding for wrapping and encasing products.
micro, small and medium enterprises, or MSMEs)
in a phased manner starting from FY25. An official on the condition of anonymity said,
“We have undertaken several measures on this
India is the among the few largest plastic pro- front, including optimising current packaging
ducer globally. While these new norms will put by reducing size, initiating the use of recycled
India ahead in the global league, they will also content in secondary packaging, and moving to-
impact packaging costs for consumer compa- wards easy-to-recycle packaging material.”
nies.
Experts are of the view that plastic recyclers and
According to experts the new mandatory norms innovative packaging companies such as EPL,
for plastic recycling and reuse of plastic packag- Uflex, and ITC can provide solutions for making
ing will impact consumer goods companies for plastic recyclable.
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