ITC Ltd, a diversified conglomerate and a pioneer in building scalable and sustainable solid waste management models in India, today announced a first of its kind 360-degree model for sustainable management of Multi-Layered Plastic (MLP) packaging waste in Pune in partnership with SWaCH, a leading waste-pickers cooperative and with active patronage and cooperation from the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC). The initiative also marks the launch of a multi-layer plastic waste storage facility in Uruli Devachi Pune, with a capacity to handle 200 MT of MLP waste per month. Launched on the World Environment Day, the facility is a fitting tribute to the citizens of Pune, whose active participation will ensure the success and a rapid scale-up of this unique programme.
Multi-Layered Plastic (MLP) packaging is the mainstay of the modern food industry given its superior ability to preserve the integrity of food. However, absence of sustainable models in India to enable its end-to-end recycling has been among the most compounding challenges of the waste management authorities Therefore, such plastics eventually end up in landfill sites, as the last resort. The waste recycling trade have a value bias in favour of other forms of plastics and packaging as they fetch higher returns, leaving multi-layered-plastic packaging untreated with few takers.
In its first phase, ITC-and SWaCH in collaboration with PMC will operate a state-of-the-art waste processing facility with a capacity to manage 200 metric tonnes per month of MLP waste, providing an additional income stream to over 3,500 waste collectors who collect dry and wet waste separately every day covering 8.1 lakh properties across the city. The model enables scaling up the MLP recycling initiative progressively across the city by setting up additional hubs.
As a part of this holistic model, ITC is also working with local recycling partner Shakti Plastics by extending technical support and sharing best practices for better value realization from recycling MLP.