Delhi Govt To Support Startups Providing Alternatives To Single-Use Plastics

The Delhi government will support startups that come up with alternatives to single-use plastics to manage plastic waste, environment minister Gopal Rai said.

The state government will provide assistance to startups offering single-use plastic alternatives, for which an action plan has been prepared, the minister was quoted as saying by The Times of India while inaugurating a training programme organised in collaboration with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) for plastic waste management.  

The government has drawn up a framework for adopting several alternative models to curb single-use plastics and implement the Plastic Waste Management Act, he added.

Plastic forks, straws, polythene, plastic glasses, and other single-use plastics that cannot be reused are discarded. So, adequate information is needed for the effective management of plastic waste, not only for those who produce it but also for those who pick it up and manage it, he said. 

It is important to mention here that single-use plastic items will not be allowed in the country from July 1, 2022. The Central Pollution Control Board earlier in the year notified producers, shopkeepers, street vendors and the general public about the ban.

Single-use plastics are those products that have a one-time use before they are thrown away. Often these kinds of plastics are not disposed of properly, therefore not recycled.

Plastic Waste Management Startups In India

Although the plastic waste management segment is highly fragmented and informal, there are several startups like Recykal, Scrapshala, Banyan Nation, Lucro Plastecycle, ZeroPlast Labs, Beco, among others, working across India to manage plastic waste. 

In January 2022, cloud-based waste management startup Recykal raised $22 Mn led by Morgan Stanley India. Through its marketplace, Recykal allows users to buy and sell recyclable items like plastics, paper, e-wastes etc.

Varanasi-based Scrapshala deals in waste management by recycling or reusing plastics, plastic bottles, among other wastes. It was founded in 2016. 

Banyan Nation, based in Hyderabad, uses two kinds of technology to solve the problem of plastic pollution – providing mobile technology to integrate informal recyclers into the supply chain, and using technology to eliminate contaminants from discarded plastics and produce virgin-like recycled plastic.

Earlier in the month, Singapore-based investment management firm Circulate Capital invested in plastic recycling startup Deluxe through its $112-Mn Ocean Fund. Plastic waste upcycling startup Lucro Plastecycle is also part of its capital portfolio.

Meanwhile, plastic waste generation has more than doubled in India in the last five years with an average annual increase of 21.8%. Plastic and other kinds of plastic packing materials generate $100 Bn worth of waste every year. 

The global ecommerce industry uses more plastic packaging materials than any other industry in the world, and it is projected that ecommerce plastic packaging use will continue to grow in the coming years, reaching an estimated 4.5 Bn pounds by 2025.

The Indian ecommerce packaging market alone is estimated to reach $975.4 Mn by 2025, growing at 13.8% annually, according to IBEF.