Over 30 FMCG firms to cut plastic waste in Punjab

Vijay C Roy

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 30

Six cities in Punjab would witness reduction in plastic waste as more than 30 fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies, including multinationals, in association with the state government have geared up to manage multi-layered packaging (MLP) waste. They target to collect 3,500 tonnes of waste packaging material in the current fiscal.

The collected waste will be sent to recyclers, waste-to-energy plants, cement units, road construction and pyrolysis units to extract fuel oil from the MLP. The plastic waste will be collected by registered Producer Responsibility Organisations and NGOs.

“We are buoyed by the response as more than 30 companies have come forward to work with us and manage MLP waste. This initiative is a unique public-private partnership which will help us in progressing towards making Punjab plastic-free,” said a senior official in the Punjab government.

The MLP is a form of plastic that is used in packaging snacks such as chips, chocolates, biscuits, toffees and other ready-to-eat products. 

Several big FMCG players such as PepsiCo India, Perfetti Van Melle, Nestlé India, Dabur India, Dharmpal Satyapal Group, Haldiram, Hector Beverages, P&G, Patanjali, Godrej Consumer Products, Tata Chemicals, Cremica, among others, have set the ball rolling to collect the waste. 

In the current fiscal, Dabur is targeting a collection of 950 tonnes of post-consumer plastic waste from all major cities of Punjab. The company will engage with over 1,500 local ragpickers for the drive. “This is a part of Dabur India’s commitment to collect 100% of the plastic waste generated by its packaging i.e 1,600 tonnes in Punjab by 2020-21,” said Dabur India corporate head — Environment, Health & Safety, Dr Priyank Arya.

Besides collecting waste, the FMCG companies will engage with waste management service providers in training waste pickers, creating awareness with the help of NGOs, collecting and responsibly re-processing multi-layered plastic.

Aiming to effectively manage post-consumer MLP in the state, the Punjab Plastic Waste Management Society (PPWMS) was incorporated last year. A consortium of FMCG companies also signed a pact with Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) to manage the waste.

Under the arrangement, PPWMS appoints NGOs or Producer Responsibility Organisations (PROs) for the collection of waste. For collection and transportation of the waste to recycling plant, the NGOs or PROs are offered Rs 9 per kg. As far expenses are concerned, the FMCGs companies fund the entire expenditure incurred.

The pilot project for the same was launched in Amritsar and Patiala and around 1,378 metric tonnes of waste was collected from these two cities.

Best out of waste 

• MLP to be collected: 3,500 tonnes
• Cities to participate: Mohali, Ropar, Bathinda, Nawanshahr, Moonak, Amritsar
• FMCG firms involved: PepsiCo, Perfetti Van Melle, Nestlé India, Dabur India, Dharmpal Satyapal Group

.