Molding India’s Plastic Story A CASE STUDY IN PLASTIC BAG USAGE AND WASTE DISPOSAL
RESEARCH REPORT, QUICKSAND, JUNE 2015
Molding India’s Plastic Story A CASE STUDY IN PLASTIC BAG USAGE AND WASTE DISPOSAL
RESEARCH REPORT, QUICKSAND, JUNE 2015
INTRODUCTION Polyethylene, the most pervasive form of plastic used, was created in 1898 by a German scientist who had no conception of the scope or significance of his discovery. And since the mid-20th century, when corporations realized that consumer plastic products were stronger and more durable, convenient and costefficient than alternatives, global production and consumption of plastic has continued to rise. In 2013, the world produced over 299 million metric tonnes of plastic, of which India consumed 8 million metric tonnes. Today, an average North American or Western European uses 100 kilograms each year, mostly as packaging, plastic bags and bottles. In comparison, Asians use only 20 kilograms of plastic per person, but this figure is rising rapidly as economies in the region expand. In India, the share of plastic waste in total solid waste rose from 0.6% in 1996 to 9.2% in 2005. Over 50% of this waste comprises of used plastic bags and packaging. Most consumers across the world use plastic bags only once before they throw them away. In the absence of public awareness on recycling and
reusing plastic, and adequate recycling or disposal facilities, the bulk of plastic bags pile up in massive landfills. This is especially critical because polyethylene -made from oil and natural gas- is also an alarmingly persistent and prevalent pollutant. Without special treatment, it does not readily biodegrade, and so accumulates in landfills, or on the roadside and in oceans. It thus poses a threat to both the environment and to civic infrastructure management. These concerns have caused governments across the world, including India, to introduce legislation and regulatory instruments to limit the use of plastic bags: mandatory pricing of plastic bags, explicit levies on each bag, taxes at manufacturing level, discounts on use of own bags, awareness campaigns and, increasingly, a total ban on their use. The current discourse on international waste management revolves around the concepts of zero waste and circular economy. These approaches, which emphasize minimizing waste,
reducing consumption, and maximizing reuse and recycling, find pre-existing parallels in India’s frugal economy. However, without a formal organized system in place, almost 50% of organic waste and 30% of recyclables are dumped in severely overextended and polluted landfills. The unsegregated waste also significantly reduces the efficiency of other alternative methods of disposal, such as incineration. It is increasingly important to look at waste as a resource and to acknowledge the raw materials and energy that we can procure from it. Co-incineration of plastic in cement kilns has been successful across Indian states, and there have been recent experiments with polymer blended bitumen roads, plasma pyrolysis disintegration and the depolymerisation of plastics into liquid fuel. These methods are helping municipal administrations in their goal to minimize the amount of garbage sent to landfills. However, overall success depends on social awareness and behaviour change, especially with
regard to waste segregation and the tenets of reduce, reuse and recycle. The Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan, the Government of India’s ambitious project to clean the streets, roads and infrastructure of the country in time for Gandhi’s 150th birth anniversary in 2019, aims to teach citizens to reduce and clean their own waste. Most Indians think of cleaning as “someone else’s job,” but to make Clean India a reality every citizen needs to take responsibility for her consumption and waste. According to a 2014 report by ToxicLinks, over 60% of vendors surveyed in Delhi continue to use plastic bags and 89% of the consumers throw these away after single use. This is in spite of the fact that 95% vendors and 86% consumers are aware of the citywide ban on plastic bags. While the government needs to find and promote cost-efficient and convenient alternatives to plastic bags, it is us as vendors and consumers who need to create and sustain this much needed change.
A waste collector in Bangalore. PHOTOGRAPH BY THE SOFT COPY
REDUCING PLASTIC BAG USE AND WASTE
POLICY CAMPAIGNS ALTERNATIVES WASTE MANAGEMENT
To effectuate reduction in the use of plastic bags and resultant waste, the central as well as various state governments in India have introduced legislation and a range of regulatory instruments. Private and public operators have been identifying and promoting alternatives, and various government and citizenled public awareness campaigns have been launched.
POLICY
NATIONAL POLICY In 2011, the Government of India notified the Plastic Waste (Management and Handling) Rules to replace the earlier 2003 regulations. Minimum thickness of plastic bags was raised from 20 microns to 40, and recycled bags made from compostable plastics had to conform to specific norms. The rules require municipal authorities to constructively engage with waste pickers and waste management agencies, and also requires manufacturing units to register with Pollution Control Boards. PHOTOGRAPH BY BHAVIKA AGGARWAL
STATE POLICIES Various state governments have banned plastic bags or introduced incremental regulation towards controlling their use and manufacture. Despite these efforts, states have had varying success in effectively implementing the ban on plastic bags, mainly due to weak enforcement and lack of cost-effective alternatives.
Plastic bags for sale in Delhi’s Sadar Bazaar. PHOTOGRAPH BY IRFA JAVED
COMPLETE BANS ON PLASTIC BAGS Chandigarh, Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tripura PARTIAL BANS ON PLASTIC BAGS Arunachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal
HIMACHAL PRADESH Himachal Pradesh, literally translating as “snow-clad region,� is a state in northern India and a popular tourist destination. However, the state was facing widespread pollution and environmental damage because of the plastic bags favoured by local shopkeepers and visitors.
Since 1995, when the state notified the Non-Biodegradable Garbage Control Act, Himachal Pradesh has been at the forefront of plastic bag management in India. In 1999, it became the first state of the country to ban the use of colored plastic bags, and in 2004, it imposed a ban on the use of plastic
A 2010 public awareness campaign during a Hindu pilgrimage to Manimahesh Lake, Himachal Pradesh. PHOTOGRAPH BY GREEN HIKER CAMPAIGN
Road signs in Himachal Pradesh often discourage the use of plastic bags. PHOTOGRAPH BY INDIA ENVIRONMENT PORTAL
bags with thickness less than 70 microns and size less than 18�x12�. The Sustainable Plastic Waste Management Programme imposed a complete ban on polyethene bags in 2009. Plastic cups, plates and glasses were banned in 2011, and in 2013, the government ordered a statewide ban on the sale of junk food in nonbiodegradable packets. The state and its citizens have demonstrated a strong sense of environmental consciousness by working together to enforce the ban. The government has introduced a number of public campaigns to raise awareness, and has installed CCTV cameras to discourage plastic litter.
Most shop keepers now stock paper bags recycled from newspapers and magazines. The state has also initiated several programmes to provide suitable alternatives to the use of plastic. Examples include the installation of water dispensers and the promotion of glass bottles instead of plastic bottles for water, and the use of recycled plastic pouches for vegetable oils and in nurseries. The Himachal Pradesh Forest and Fisheries Department launched a pilot of biodegradable plastic bags and jute bags, and the state also blends plastic waste into the tar used to pave roads.
DELHI Delhi, the national capital of India, is also the largest commercial centre in northern India and one of the fastest growing urban agglomerations in the world. In recent times, increasing population and related consumerism have led to significant strains on the environment as well as on the inadequate urban infrastructure.
According to a government estimate in 2012, 10 million plastic bags were used and discarded daily by the 16 million residents of the city and its suburbs. In 2011, Delhi accounted for around 5% of the packaging waste produced in India, even though it represented only about 1.5% of the population.
Plastic bags falsely marked as “Govt. Approved” available for sale in Delhi’s Sadar Bazaar. PHOTOGRAPH BY BHAVIKA AGGARWAL
PHOTOGRAPH BY BHAVIKA AGGARWAL
In 2008, the Delhi High Court mandated
“ Large retail shops have almost completely shifted to paper bags... Earlier they would pay 10 rupees for a high quality plastic bag and now they pay 12 rupees for a paper bag.�
that the minimum thickness of plastic bags be raised to 40 microns. In 2009, it also ordered a complete ban on the use of all plastic bags in market areas. This led to the disappearance of plastic bags from the organized retail sector, such as shopping malls and large supermarkets. However, it was effectively ignored in local markets and by small to medium scale retailers. Later, in 2012, the Delhi government ordered a blanket ban on the manufacturing, import, sale, storage, usage and transport of all kinds of plastic bags, sheets, films and covers. Violators face a prison term of up to seven years and a fine of INR 1,00,000.
The use of “non-woven plastic bags has shot up since the ban, because many retailers believe these to be made of cloth. PHOTOGRAPH BY BHAVIKA AGGARWAL
The majority of smallscale and informal food vendors continue to use plastic bags. PHOTOGRAPH BY BHAVIKA AGGARWAL
Despite the ban on retail use, plastic bags are the most common form of food packaging in Delhi. According to a 2014 report, 99% of vegetable and fruit vendors, 95% of meat and fish vendors, and 82% of small food outlets continue to use plastic bags. Overall, across all segments, 62% of vendors and 78% of consumers use plastic bags to sell and carry different products. Most
of them use non-woven plastic bags, mistakenly believing that these are not covered under the notification. Although there has been little to no on-ground implementation of the ban, it remains a landmark legislation because it marks the shift in thinking and policy required to bring about long term and sustainable change.
CAMPAIGNS
Over the years, there have been multiple government and privately sponsored public campaigns which raise awareness against the harmful environmental effect of plastic bags and highlight the poor working conditions of waste-pickers. Most of these are aimed at consumers and encourage them to change habits and mindsets and take responsibility for their actions.
LESS PLASTIC MORE LIFE Less Plastic More Life was a 2009 creative campaign to spread awareness about the harmful effects of plastic bags implemented via the internet, outdoor, posters and print media. One of their most effective visuals was a poster of a dead cow in a plastic bag.
CHENNAI COASTAL CLEANUP An environmental awareness movement which brings together citizen volunteers, school children and corporate employee teams to clean up Chennai’s beaches. The sixth edition, organized in June 2015, saw 5,500 volunteers collect 29 tons of waste. Volunteers also took a pledge to reduce littering and to segregate waste at their homes.
Over the years, the movement has evolved from a clean-up, segregation and recycling event to become a series of year-long, holistic and longterm sustainable initiatives to reduce garbage footprint. Organizers also conduct public awareness sessions through flash-mobs, wall paintings, street plays, quizzes, and sell plastic bag alternatives to raise funds.
THE PLASTIC COW PROJECT The Plastic Cow Project was a campaign organized around the documentary film “The Plastic Cow� by the Karuna Society for Animals and Nature. The campaign encourages the public to replace plastic bags with reusable natural fibre bags, and is based around mitigating the risk plastic poses for cows, an animal sacred to the Hindus.
ROAD SIGNAGE Municipal authorities often use road signs as a means of raising public awareness.
Mawlynnong has woven bamboo waste baskets on each road to ensure no littering. PHOTOGRAPH BY KANAK HAGJER
PHOTOGRAPH BY CHRISTOPHE BOISVIEUX
MAWLYNNONG, MEGHALAYA
SAMRATHAL DHORA, RAJASTHAN
Mawlynnong, a village in the East Khasi Hills with a population of 500, was judged Asia’s cleanest village in 2003 by the India Discovery Magazine. Over the years this has evolved into a community based eco-tourism initiative.
Bishnoi, a community in Rajasthan that traditionally reveres and protects nature, limit their use of plastic and have campaigned to spread awareness about its harmful effects on the environment.
ALTERNATIVES
The use of plastic bags in India is pervasive across various retail industries: vegetable, fruit and meat vendors, grocery shops, food outlets and restaurants, chemists, stationery shops, clothing and shoe vendors, as well as household supplies shops. Since these retailers often use plastics for different reasons, localized, industry specific alternatives are required. Often, the answer lies in low-cost and frugal substitutes used traditionally.
A paper bag maker and seller in Varanasi.
PHOTOGRAPH BY JORGE ROYAN
PAPER BAGS Larger retail shops were the first to replace plastic bags with branded paper bags.
RECYCLED / REUSABLE SHOPPING BAGS
A paper shopping bag becomes an advertisement for the brand’s no-waste policy.
Reusable bags made from natural fibres such as jute (left) and banana (right) are also getting increasingly popular.
Several Indian NGOs work with the underprivileged to upcycle waste products into recycled and/or reusable shopping bags. Public awareness campaigns and environment consciousness have led to a marked increase in their use.
Started in 2004, the Newspaper Bag Project is a Delhi based Non Government Organization which empowers women to construct recycled bags from newspapers collected locally from homes, shops and offices by ex-street children.
Since 2005, the NGO Tsunamika has been working with fisherwomen in Auroville to upcycle industrial waste. These reusable cotton shopping bags are made from garment industry waste.
PHOTOGRAPH BY SHASHWAT NAGPAL
Although a typical mobile vegetable seller in the city uses plastic bags to organize and package his produce, traditional market vendors often use lowcost woven baskets instead.
PHOTOGRAPH BY MANPREET ROMANA
FRUIT AND VEGETABLE VENDORS Fruit and vegetable sellers are guilty of using the most number of plastic bags, however most also use brown paper or recycled newspaper bags in conjunction. Larger fruits such as papayas are simply wrapped in newspaper. PHOTOGRAPH BY BHAVIKA AGGARWAL
Papayas for wholesale in a Kolkata market are packaged in newspaper and cane baskets tied using jute ropes. PHOTOGRAPH BY NISA & ULLI MAIER
STREET FOOD VENDORS Indian street-food vendors have long been known for their frugal, low-cost packaging and serving methods.
A jamun seller in Delhi serves the fruit in recycled newspaper envelopes. PHOTOGRAPH BY BHAVIKA AGGARWAL
Street vendors often use foil-paper plates, dried leaf plates or fresh leaves such as banana, clay pots, foil sleeves and newspaper packets to serve food.
A chaat (savoury street snack) seller in Delhi uses a combination of foil plates and newspaper. PHOTOGRAPH BY BHAVIKA AGGARWAL
A street vendor selling spiced roasted chickpeas, dals and peanuts in newspaper cones. PHOTOGRAPH BY JANE / JANE’S INDIA JOURNEY
RESTAURANTS / FOOD OUTLETS Restaurants and small food outlets mostly package their food in hard plastic trays (which work well with both dry dishes and curries) or aluminium foil containers (which retain heat). These containers are often carried in paper boxes, sleeves or bags.
Asian Haus, a high-end food delivery service in Delhi, uses a combination of cardboard boxes, plastic containers and paper wrappers.
Packaging materials used include plastic containers, plastic glasses, foil trays and plastic trays.
Most restaurants serve Indian meals in disposable plastic trays to delivery / take-out customers
WASTE MANAGEMENT India has a long tradition of sustainable production and consumption, and the frugal economy prioritizes reuse and upcycling over a throw-away attitude. The country has consistently rated very high on the National Geographic GreenDex score. Nonetheless, India generates significant waste (4 ton/ person/year in 2008 and estimated to be 15 ton/person/year by 2020) and does not have adequate wastemanagement systems in place. Urban waste, the majority of domestic waste in India, is often dumped in large land-fills in peri-urban and rural areas. The management of nonbiodegradable plastic waste is thus a key consideration.
PHOTOGRAPH BY ENRICO FABIAN
AGENCIES Solid waste management in cities and towns comes under the domain of the urban local bodies (ULBs). In an ideal scenario, ULBs would work together with waste worker unions, citizen groups and non-governmental organizations to effectively implement programmes to minimize and manage waste at the local level. The solid waste management process can be split into: COLLECTION SEGREGATION, RECYCLE & REUSE STORAGE & TRANSPORTATION PROCESSING DISPOSAL PHOTOGRAPH BY BIKAS DAS
COLLECTION Most Indian cities do not have a formal garbage collection system. Instead, a network of informal “kuda walas” or waste collectors provide this service. Each collector operates in specific neighbourhoods and collects mixed garbage from households in exchange for a small monthly fee. In the
absence of waste collectors residents dump waste out on the street or in community bins. Households also often collect their waste paper and plastic bottles, which they then sell by weight to a local trash dealer or “kabadi wala.”
A waste collector in Delhi using a whistle to signal her arrival. PHOTOGRAPH BY J. ADAM HUGGINS
A waste dealer in Delhi sorts through her day’s acquisition of paper. PHOTOGRAPH BY ENRICO FABIAN
SEGREGATION, RECYCLE & REUSE Recycling by means of repair, reprocessing, and reuse of waste materials is a common practice in India. Waste collectors segregate resalable materials like plastics, metal and glass from the trash, which they then sell to trash dealers who ultimately sell to local recycling plants. The garbage goes through a second round of segregation when wastepickers or rag-pickers sort through
it at the local collection points or at city-level land-fills. These activities are neither regulated nor monitored and pose serious health risks to wasteworkers. However, the inert garbage, with no resale value, is not picked out and remains mixed with organic waste and smaller amounts of recyclable waste.
More than 60,000 children work as waste pickers in Delhi. PHOTOGRAPH BY KAUSIKI SARMA
Rag pickers sort through garbage and pick out recyclable materials to sell from the 70 acre Ghazipur landfill site in east Delhi. PHOTOGRAPH BY RAJ K RAJ
STORAGE & TRANSPORTATION The waste dumped at community bins or primary collection points (often open dumps) by households or waste collectors is transported by municipal vehicles to large city level land fills, generally outside the city in peri-urban or rural areas.
In larger cities, smaller vehicles bring waste to transfer stations and larger vehicles transport them away to final disposal sites. Transfer stations are also used as collection and sorting points for recycling materials.
Garbage by the truckloads is deposited at the Ghazipur landfill site in east Delhi. PHOTOGRAPH BY RAJ K RAJ
PROCESSING
DISPOSAL
High quality materials and used products are cleaned or transformed for reuse (such as the reuse of old newspapers for packaging material), while recyclable materials are traded and ultimately reprocessed. Organic waste is converted into biogas or compost.
Most urban solid waste in Indian cities and towns is landfilled and dumped, which results in significant environmental degradation, and local air and land pollution. Some Indian cities have been experimenting with incineration in purpose built facilities. Rural areas tend to burn waste in open grounds, which is also harmful.
The Timarpur Okhla Municipal Solid Waste Management project, the first commercial waste-to-energy facility in India, began operations in late 2011. However, there have been concerns over air pollution due to the burning of unsegregated waste. PHOTOGRAPH BY CHINKY SHUKLA
END NOTE The danger posed by unmitigated use and inadequate disposal of plastic bags remains significant and ubiquitous across geographies and cultures. Since the mid twentieth century however, several sensitive local economies and groups of stakeholders have flourished around what was once an innocuous invention of mankind. The behavior that drives this situation is localized but the sheer scale of the problem has necessitated responses across countries that can be studied and learnt from.
inform our research and practice in India as well as in Phnom Penh, Siem Reap and Sihanoukville.
This publication attempts to document a context that is familiar to us and that we believe shares several similarities with Cambodia in terms of culture, economics and politics. Lessons that we learn can flow both ways and
need interventions which align private incentives with public interest, and farsighted policies which can drive real-time, on-ground change rather than reactionary constructs.
In the dynamic contexts of India and Cambodia, it is especially critical that we take into consideration the challenges and opportunities of hyperlocal, market driven practices and how they interact with high-level policy decisions. The rapid consumerism and urbanization in both countries are in stark contrast with prevalent poverty, and plastic bags are undeniably convenient and cost-efficient. We
IMAGE CREDITS All photographs used in this publication have been credited to their owners. Quicksand is in the process of getting rights to use some of these images.
RESOURCES Gupta, K. (2011). Consumer Responses to Incentives to Reduce Plastic Bag Use: Evidence from a Field Experiment in Urban India. New Delhi: SANDEE. Toxics Link. (2014). Plastics and the Environment. New Delhi: Toxics Link.
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