Large corporates engaged in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) business have accelerated efforts to achieve the plastic neutrality target by the financial year (FY) 2024-25 (April-March). Many of them have increased the use of environmentally friendly packaging materials, collaborating with independent plastic recyclers to manufacture recycled packaging materials and reduce the use of virgin materials. Others have established separate subsidiaries to secure packaging components. Plastic, one of the most lightweight protective materials, is widely used for wrapping and encasing products. The plastic recovered from waste is converted into granules and utilized in the production of packaging materials.
FMCG companies such as Coca-Cola Company, Hindustan Unilever, Marico, Nestle India, Pepsico, Parle Agro, and Ayurveda major Dabur, among others, have, drafted their plans to become plastic-neutral in a phased manner. Most of these companies have outlined plans to become free from plastics, meaning they aim to facilitate the collection of post-use bottles, wrappers, and other packaging materials, at least equivalent to the quantity they consume, and ensure recycling.
Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) announced that the FMCG major has facilitated environmentally safe disposal of more than 120,000 tonnes of post-consumer plastic waste since 2018. The company extended scrap collection services even during the pandemic period, in addition to safe disposal of post-use packaging materials. HUL demonstrated a willingness to collect and process more plastic than it sells. The multinational company partnered with various organizations for the collection of plastic waste including Saahas, Carpe, Recykal, Planet Savers, RaddiConnect, Geoycle, Ramky Envio, among other Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), and municipal bodies to reach the end consumers for plastic waste collection.
| Large FMCG companies’ plastic circularity drive |
| Companies | Achievement by FY2022-23 | Target for FY2024-25 |
| Marico | Recyclable packaging share upto 94.5%; less than 1% of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) share; 100% EPR compliance; 10-20% of post-consumer resin (PCR) usage with two successful projects | 100% recyclable packaging by FY2024-25; Phase out PVC usage in packaging by FY2024-25; 100% extended producers responsibility (EPR) compliance |
| Hindustan Unilever Ltd | Achieved 100% PCR plastic waste | Collect and process more plastic than we sell; 100% reusable, recyclable or compostable plastic packaging by 2025; 15% recycled plastic by 2025; Maintain zero non-hazardous waste to landfill in our factories |
| Nestle India* | Designed 81.9% plastic packaging for recycling | Aim to achieve 95% of plastic packaging for recycling by 2025 |
Sources: Company annual report, and their Sustainability plans; and Polymerupdate Research; *FY2021-22
The company is also working in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the international organization Xynteo for material recovery. The objective of HUL is to collect and process more plastic than the company sells through the additional application of 100 percent reusable, recyclable, or compostable plastic packaging by 2025. The company aims to use 15 percent of recycled plastic of the entire packaging material consumption by 2025. HUL also announced two new commitments -- Reduce our use of virgin plastic packaging by 50 percent by 2025, with one-third coming from an absolute plastic reduction, and help collect and process more plastic packaging than we sell by 2025. In yet another plan, the company proposes to maintain zero non-hazardous waste in landfills in the HUL factories.
| PET bottle recycling trend in India |
| Sector | Rate(%) |
| Carbonated Soft Drink/fruit drink | 28 |
| Bottled water | 18 |
| Liquor | 10 |
| Edible oil | 9 |
| Pharmaceuticals | 9 |
| Personal care | 8 |
| Wide mouth jars | 6 |
| Home care | 4 |
| Agro-chemicals | 1 |
| Dairy | 1 |
| Others | 6 |
Sources: Industry, and Polymerupdate Research; Others include sheets, straps, injection moulded items and masterbatches
rPET vs virgin-PETThe Coca-Cola Company, the beverage company, launched its sustainable packaging platform in 2018, which includes a goal to collect and recycle the equivalent of a bottle or can for every one the company sells globally by 2030, and to make 100 percent of its packaging recyclable by 2025. The company recently launched cold drinks packaging in rPET bottles that are made purely from food-grade recycled PET, considering their life beyond the initial packing.
Marico identified an opportunity to reduce the carbon footprint by incorporating rPET with virgin PET in a few stock-keeping units (SKU) of value-added hair oils. The FMCG company reduced the virgin PET consumption by 130 tonnes during FY2022-23. Additionally, the opportunity was identified to reduce carbon footprint by using recycled low-density polyethylene (LDPE) in place of virgin LDPE as secondary packaging for certain products in value-added products. From this segment, Marico reduced the virgin LDPE consumption by 23 tonnes during FY2022-23.
In alignment with the Plastic Waste Management (PMW) Rules, and the national guidelines of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) released in 2022, the company carried out the collection, recycling, co-processing, and safe disposal of 18,584 tonnes of post-consumer waste, including multilayer plastic (MLP), rigid and flexible plastic in FY2022-23. During FY2022-23, the share of recyclable packaging material at Marico rose to 95.4 percent, polyvinyl chloride slumped to below 1 percent, and EPR compliance by 100 percent. Additionally, PCR usage achieved in the range of 10-20 percent with two successful projects in FY2022-23 at the FMCG company.
For FY2024-25, Marico has outlined plans for 100 percent recyclable packaging, phasing out PVC usage in packaging, and 100 percent EPR compliance. Further, the company proposes a 100 percent recyclable packaging portfolio up to 100 percent and increases the use of PCR minimum up to 30 percent or as advised by regulation by FY2029-30. Marico’s Upcycle Program is designed to integrate the principles and key performance metrics related to circularity within its overall packaging portfolio. A set of nine opportunity levers have been established to accomplish the 2030 goals that have been set towards achieving this target.
According to a company statement, “The process improvement project undertaken is in line with Marico’s commitment to reducing waste. Sanand factory identified several actionable points to reduce operational wastages and successfully closed the gaps. This resulted in more than 46-47 percent savings of raw materials and packaging materials in FY2022-23, compared to the consumption in FY2021-22.
Eliminating unnecessary plasticNestle aims to use less virgin fossil-fuel-based plastic in packaging. By eliminating unnecessary plastic (from tear-off bands to single-use items like straws), introducing reusable and re-fillable alternatives, and switching to paper, bio-based, and biodegradable materials, the company proposes to reduce plastic footprint. As of the end of 2022, 81.9 percent of its plastic packaging came from a recycled segment and now expects to reach the use of recycled content to more than 95 percent by 2025. The company remains committed to achieving 100 percent in a couple of years thereafter. Nestle claims to be on track to reduce the use of virgin plastic by one-third by 2025.
Dabur’s plastic waste positivityDabur India Ltd, India’s largest science-based Ayurveda major, became a ‘Plastic Waste Positive company’ having collected, processed, and recycled 35,000 tonnes of post-consumer plastic waste from all over India in FY2022-23. Today, Dabur collects, processes, and recycles more plastic waste than it sells in its products’ packaging in a year. This includes all types of plastic waste, from PET and high-density polyethylene (HDPE) bottles, polypropylene (PP) caps and labels to multi-layered plastics and beverage cartons. The company is also committed to promoting circularity in the value chain to reduce its carbon footprint and achieve net zero across its stream of business by 2045.
The company’s Plastic Waste Management initiative was rolled out in FY2017-18. Under this initiative, Dabur has to date collected a total of over 89,000 tonnes of plastic waste (recyclable and non-recyclable) directly from the end-users with the help of local ragpickers in 150 cities across India. Dabur has also put in place a robust audit mechanism to ensure complete transparency and compliance with the state and central regulations and guidelines on Plastic Waste Management.
DILIP KUMAR JHA
Editor
dilip.jha@polymerupdate.com
