An article by Mr Ashok Kumar of Creative Plastics Consultants, on the problems faced by the plastics industry, specifically looking into waste management and environmental issues.

At various Seminars, Conferences and gatherings, I often hear about plastics waste management and environmental issues. The attack on the plastics industry is quite severe, particularly on plastic films.

Some introspection will reveal that, we ourselves are to be blamed for inviting the wrath of Nature, Government and Society. Hence it is our responsibility to think wisely for a solution.

Ours is a country of over one billion people and we know that of our country's total population few are literate. But does this really make a difference? Literate or illiterate, the littering habits of most of our countrymen in metros, cities and villages are the same. While I do not deny for the necessity for the spread of awareness, there are many more important national issues needing awareness. Civic sense can reach every citizen through education, media or legislation, for in order to stop the menace of littering, we must start with ourselves.

It is easy to blame someone else and that is exactly what we do. People blame Municipal Corporations and the Municipal authorities pass the blame back to the people and the industry. It is easy to announce bans but very difficult to implement them, as plastics are so much a necessity because of their user-friendliness. The Municipal authorities have a task at hand just keeping the city clean with or without plastics. If plastics were not there, paper, cloth, glass and other garbage would give enough work for municipal authorities to deal with. Plastics only contribute 3-5% more to the total municipal waste; then why the hue and cry? Factually speaking, there are more people damaging the environment than there are to clean up and beautify our surroundings.

Let us face up to the facts and shoulder our responsibility. Let all the Plastics Associations who are involved in promoting growth of the industry join forces. Let us collaborate and find ways of creating a work force to collect and clean plastics from wherever it is found, littered by all of us: plastics people and citizens in general. Not only will we help clean the environment but in the process we will also be creating massive employment opportunities for millions of our countrymen who have no jobs and livelihood.

Yes, the big question that pops up is where will the funds come from. Where do you expect the Municipal authorities to get funds from?
We plastics processors and raw material manufacturers must rise to the occasion, we must open up our minds and see the long-term benefits of this proposal. For 3.5 million tonnes of plastic produced and used by all of us, a recollection levy of 1% (say about Rs.500/-) per Tonne, would automatically fund the entire proposal, as well as create employment opportunities, and put aside all arguments about plastics being harmful for the environment. It would also give sufficient impetus for processors to use only virgin material instead of using dirty, filthy recycled material and there would be no necessity for any kind of bans by any authority.

WORKING METHODOLOGY:

1. Flow chart:
             Plastic products - consumer - consumer waste/household waste - collection by waste management organisation - transportation to waste collection dump -washing/cleaning/segregation/crushing - supply as fuel for development of energy OR supply as raw material for recycling - extrusion/production of recycled products such as lumber OR part of compounded raw material for industrial products.

2. It is necessary to create a waste management organisation which will function on a National level to employ rag pickers, unemployed labour and educated unemployed into a team. This team will carry out the task of collecting plastics from streets, waste dumps, common society waste bins, directly from households, hotels, hospitals and community centres. This team should be complemented with another team with transport facility; to carry large quantities of collected waste to dumps outside of city limits. The third team would clean /wash /segregate and crush the collected waste into reusable mode either for recycling or incineration.

3. Large capacity incineration units having non-polluting systems should be set-up at convenient locations for generation of energy from such plastics waste and collected material from different cities and states should be supplied to such locations. It is important that supply of waste material for energy generation is regular, guaranteed, and sufficient for energy generation to be viable.

4. Large scale recycling plants can be scientifically controlled with high standards of R&D and QC for producing good quality compounds and recycled end products. End products like synthetic wood, benches for parks, public places, railways and airports, fencing for parks, side walks and roads, boundaries and buildings, sleepers for Railway tracks, pallets for bulk transportation, bodies of trucks, waste collection dumps, sign boards and marine transportation are some of the new markets which will have endless requirements of products developed from such plastics waste.

5. The economics of energy generation and cost of labour for such a waste management organisation and hence the end products are favourable indicators for viability and success of this entire waste management system. There are many other advantages, which are listed on the next page: