New Delhi – Indian Multi-national conglomerate ITC Ltd is targeting collection of around 200 tn of Low Value Plastic (LVP) waste per month in Pune, the company said in its annual report.
The move is aimed at optimising packaging to reduce post-consumer packaging waste. The company started the collection programme in January in collaboration with SWaCH – a cooperative of waste pickers. This company has engaged a recycler to recycle the waste. is
This is part of its flagship initiative ‘Well-Being Out of Waste’ (WOW) – where ITC is collecting around 16,000 tn of post-consumer plastic waste from cities in in Karnataka, Bihar, Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
Out of this, around 7,400 tn of LVP, comprising of multi-layered plastic and thin films, is being collected annually, the report said.
WOW is also creation helping waste pickers have access to sustainable livelihoods apart from ensuring a cleaner and greener environment, the report said.
The company collected 51,696 MT from 651 wards dry waste during the year ended 31 Mar which was then sent for recycling to cement kilns as alternate fuel.
The company aims to achieve 100% reusable, recyclable or compostable packaging in over a decade, it said in the report.
Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016 lay down provisions for plastic waste management. The company is adopting a structured approach towards achieving this through design optimisation, identifying alternative packaging material with lower environmental impact and suitable end-of-life solutions for packaging waste.
Among other initiatives, it is focussing on educating citizens on segregating waste at source into dry and wet waste streams.
ITC has partnered with urban local bodies, civil society and the informal sector of waste collectors.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 15 Aug also urged to do away with the practice of single use plastic in the country while delivering the 73rd Independence Day speech.
India CSR, the largest news network on corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability in India, is organising Plastic Waste Dialogue on 27 Aug in New Delhi in association with Gonative and United Way India Plog Run.
The Dialogue will involve some of the most reputed and competent national and world-renowned speakers from industries, CSR, non-profit organisations, international agencies, academia, and research organisations.
In all, 80 percent of total plastic produced in India is discarded. It mostly ends up choking landfills, drains and rivers and flows into the sea where it is ingested by marine animals. It leaches into soil and water, contaminating the natural environment with poisonous dioxins.
Effective management of plastic waste therefore is crucial to do away with environmental hazard caused by plastics.
A nationwide Plogging Campaign will be announced at the dialogue.
