Plastic Waste management strategy roadmap for India: An innovative approach inspired from Denmark and the Nordic regions.

Shantanu Raj

Introduction

Plastics is one of the major issues in any country across the world. The increasing demand and supply over various sectors and industries like packaging, manufacturing, medical devices, pharmaceutical, etc. combined with pressures from competitors and the rising inflation numbers put plastics as a cheap and workaround alternative for packaging, transport, or storage applications. Considering the notoriety of plastics products, and their severe negative long-term
impact across the environment and its various constituents, it’s a serious action that needs to be taken. This article is an individual analysis and a strategy road map to reduce the impact of plastic waste, and to have an intelligent solution to its disposal in the Indian context, gaining insights and some inspirations from the Nordic waste management systems.

Critical Analysis

The total plastic waste that is collected in India is around 60%, while the remaining 40% is uncollected and causes a major problem. This amounts to a value of around 10,376 tonnes of uncollected plastic waste that finds ways in sewers, damaging the ecosystem and entering the food chains of aquatic life [3]. It is a very big issue considering the manifold of the population that is there in India.

Plastic waste generation has been more than doubled in India, within the last 5 years according to the article published on December 06, 2021 [4]. There is an average annual increase of 21.8 % around according to the Central government of India resources.

Strategy Road Map

The following strategy can be implemented to have proper waste management of plastic, including a database creation for analyzing plastic waste consumption.

1. A one point stop, like an ATM machine for plastics, that has separate plastic types se- gregator and whereby the person can put the plastic that has been collected. The ma- chine then compresses it and makes a block out of it which can be then slide in to a stor- age unit beneath or via a conveyor in some other end. Based on the weight calculations the person receives the money in their Online account, or via partners like Mobile Pay, or other online payment channels primarily popular in India like PayTm etc. This way the online churn of people into digital technologies and digital payment systems might boost.
2. The online payment system shall make the system cashless and less susceptible to thefts and tampering. Also, this can be useful in a far sighted approach. An example would be that the database can be created for total plastic waste contributed and generated from each household (via the persons digital transaction details or an associated Aadhaar card details). This is not a standalone solution but an extension of the idea, whereby, the database can help identify responsible citizens and can connect them with more better initiatives. A reward, or local appreciation system can be implemented. Rewards in terms of social recognition, honorary mentions, and or gift cards via digital systems.
3. This digital system shall also, create a database for regional plastic waste collection and plastic consumption. This way, a geographic map can be analysed for plastic consump- tion and strategies can be implemented for green initiatives for areas where there is more plastic waste generation. Awareness campaigns can be arranged in these areas.
4. Another strategy is to have these machines placed in supermarkets like they have in Den- mark in stores like Netto, Rema-1000, Føtex to name a few. The idea can be to have plastic bottles labelled with a QR code that the machine can scan and for each bottle the person can be receive money the similar way. Else, a receipt can come out with the amount in total and the person can go to the kiosk at the supermarket and can exchange the receipt for the equivalent in cash. This practice can be much appreciated and sup- ported by local authorities like Municipal corporations, thereby reducing the manual labor work for plastic recycling and sorting.
5. Partners can be arranged to dispose off the plastic recycling to the nearest recycling plant. This can be done on a tender basis.
6. Another initiative can be to boost use of paper bags, jute bags in India.
7. Transparency and trustworthiness in the entire process can ensure a smooth transition into a society that cares for the environment and aims to stop plastic pollution.
8. Practical solutions like kerbside collection in popular among some Nordic countries in- cluding Sweden. Multi component bins, separate container sorting, source separation in multi-coloured bags prior to optical sorting can be a part of this process [2].
9. Colour tags can be done for certain grades of plastics to differentiate them prior to recyc- ling. This can save cost, time and work involved in separation process. The consumers can check the color tag and dispose off the respective plastic in the respective collection units.
10. Cooperation in this regards can be done in two ways, practical levels of knowledge ex- change and bench marking. This can be done within state, or across cities. [2].
11. Pant system is a popular system that is implemented in Sweden [6]. A similar system can be implemented in India. A move towards the circular economy can be a good solu- tion in this regards.
12. Image processing, AI, machine learning can also assist in sorting plastic waste and its management across. For plastic bottles of various sizes, sorting can be done based on image processing algorithms once its put into the recycling bin, and based on the bottle size, the money be refunded to the consumer. This process might replace the need for QR codes or Pant labelling in the existing business strategy model.

To ensure this strategy is fruitful, local authorities can play an active role. Large companies like RelianceFresh, India, and other supermarkets like D-Mart can be a part of this initiative as a part of their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities. Various state governments can form this as a part of their Sustainable development goals initiatives. This way, the plastics issue can be brought down by a great margin considering that the individual citizen becomes a part of this process on a continuous and sustained basis. Awareness campaigns can be done through local newspapers, media operations like news channels, and social media via Whatsapp and Facebook. School education systems can have a small session whereby the kids and young children are given valuable knowledge in plastic recycling and to be champions for a sustainable future.

Bibliography

[1] Denmark extends recycling system to juice and smoothie bottles. https://www.thelocal. dk/20190702/denmark-rolls-out-recycling-system-to-juice-and-smoothies/. (Ac- cessed on 01/09/2022).

[2] Fulltext01.pdf. chrome-extension://oemmndcbldboiebfnladdacbdfmadadm/http:
//norden.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:788308/FULLTEXT01.pdf. (Accessed on 01/09/2022).

[3] India to ban single-use plastics but experts say more must be done to. https://www.cnbc.com/2021/10/11/
india-to-ban-single-use-plastics-but-experts-say-more-must-be-done-to.html.(Accessed on 01/05/2022).

[4] India’s plastic waste generation more than doubled in 5 years: Centre. https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/
indias-plastic-waste-generation-more-than-doubled-in-5-years-centre-2639773#:
~:text=The%20Centre%20said%20that%20more,lakh%20tons%20in%202018%2D19.&text= New%20Delhi%3A,the%20Centre%20said%20on%20Monday. (Accessed on 01/09/2022).

[5] Plastic waste management in india | plastic waste disposal | saahas zero waste. https:
//saahaszerowaste.com/plastic-waste-management-india/. (Accessed on 01/09/2022).

[6] The swedish recycling revolution – sweden.se. https://sweden.se/climate/ sustainability/swedish-recycling-and-beyond. (Accessed on 01/09/2022).

[7] Where to return bottles and cans – learn more here. https://danskretursystem.dk/en/ about-deposits/where-return/. (Accessed on 01/09/2022).