E-Dialogues
Used Beverage Cartons: Experts discuss ways to manage waste The All India Institute of Local Self Government (AIILSG) in partnership with United Nations Center for Regional Development (UNCRD), Action Alliance for Recycling Beverage Cartons (AARC) and 3R Waste Foundation organised a webinar titled “The Road to Beverage Cartons Recyclability- Pre-event of UNCRD Japan’s 11th 3R & Circular Economy Forum 2021” on 1st February, 2022 he webinar addressed the issue of consumed beverage cartons as a significant portion of the waste generated worldwide. The participants discussed the magnitude of the
44 March 2022 | www.urbanupdate.in
problem, possible ways of reducing the waste generation including reuse, recycling and best practices in the industry. The introductory note was given by Dr Kulwant Singh, CEO, 3R Waste Foundation, who was also the moderator of the session. He enlisted goals of the webinar - disseminating information among different target groups on beverage carton recycling, enhancing capacity of policymakers, to mend any misconception regarding the recycling of used beverage cartons (UBC), assessing regulatory policies which affect recycling of UBCs, challenges faced by stakeholders and improving the recyclability quotient of UBCs. The first speaker, NB Maazumdar, an international waste expert, specialising in municipal waste, discussed about ‘Recycling Beverage Carton: Policy and regulated issues’. Discussing the composition of the tetra pack – 75 per cent long fiber paper, 21 per cent plastics and 4 per cent Aluminum, he said the strength of the carton is derived from the long fiber which gets shortened during the recycling process. Therefore, UBCs can’t be reused to store food items because of contamination. One solution is limiting the use of recycled material, with strict quality control since recycled cartons may contain harmful chemicals. The current policy framework divides waste into three categories - biodegradable, non-biodegradable and domestic hazardous; there is no separate category for UBCs. The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. Government of India has prepared National Resource Efficiency Policy 2019, which focuses on UBCs as a separate category of waste. What makes this policy effective, is the creation of a dedicated institution National Resource Efficiency Authority (NREA) to provide regulations, and a National Resource Efficiency Board (NREAB) to implement them. Dr Anupam Khajuria, UNCRD discussed ‘Opportunities for Recyclability and Circular Economy’. In the waste hierarchy, priority should
