plasticsrecyclingandtheneedforbio-polymers.docVIP

PLASTICS RECYCLING and the NEED FOR BIO-POLYMERS This word document was downloaded from the website: /en/, please remain this link information when you reproduce , copy, or use it. a href=/enword documents/a Mrs Almitra H Patel, Member, Supreme Court Committee for Solid Waste Management, 50 Kothnur, Bagalur Rd, Bangalore 560077, India. almitrapatel@ ABSTRACT: Recycling is a flourishing business in India’s informal sector, retrieving 10-15% of urban wastes and employing millions in a sometimes illicit, twilight activity. But Recyclables are not always Recycled. This paper described what is recycled today, what is not, and therefore where there are opportunities for the use of bio-polymer products and packaging. New legislation may soon be framed to promote product stewardship, producer responsibility and waste minimization in India, similar to such legislation elsewhere. Indians have a remarkably small ecological footprint compared to citizens in advanced countries. Non-biodegradable waste in large Indian cities averages just 50 – 100 gm per capita per day, compared to 1-2 kg in the West. Sadly, this is often disparaged as “backwardness” or under-development, rather than recognizing and appreciating the natural conservation culture of Indians, who will repair and use appliances and cars for years, hand down clothing to relatives or servants, waste no food, and even save paper and string for re-use. However, the sheer abundance of thin-film plastics has broken this habit. The sheer availability of not just carrybags, but bread wrappers, packaging of fresh foods and provisions like rice, dal etc, shrink-wrap, micro-packs of cosmetics and paan parag etc is far beyond the need or capacity of families to re-use them. So they get thrown away, and this has overwhelmed the ability of cities to handle this waste. Only low-gauge low-value plastic is a problem, as milk pouches etc are rarely thrown away; they still find their way directly to waste-bu