Plastic credit model: An opportunity to bring a change and tackle India’s plastic problem

Just like carbon emissions, plastic waste is getting worse day-by-day. One of the main reasons behind this plastic epidemic is irresponsible human activities.

The global plastic waste management market size is expected to reach $41.58 billion by 2027. The global plastic production was 368 million tons in 2019. In 2022, plastic production is still on the rise, and the alarming statistics show that there are about 450 million tons of plastic produced each year, and that the production is set to double by 2045.

Factories produce approximately 400 million tonnes of plastic per year globally. It is predicted that by 2050, the cumulative production volume of all plastics ever produced will reach 34 billion metric tons, up from the 8.3 billion metric tons that had been created as of 2017. The plastic industry contributes 232 million metric tons of greenhouse gases every year in the US alone.

The problem needs a sustainable and effective solution to address the hazardous effects of plastic on the ecosystem.

Plastic credit

The plastic credit model is an initiative to bring an ethical and sustainable solution to the plastic pollution problem. It’s an effective procedure to remove or recycle excess plastic waste from the environment. This concept is inspired by the carbon credit model, which was crafted to reduce excess carbon emissions.

Plastic does not belong to nature. The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has a global strategy in pursuit of the vision of No Plastic in Nature by 2030. WWF is working to stop the flow of plastic into nature, eliminate unnecessary plastic, and improve sustainable production and management of the necessary plastic.

The low-value plastic, which is difficult to recycle, is degrading our environment the most. There is an immediate need to create a trustworthy ecosystem where offset providers work with local organisations to manage the local waste. Plastic credit helps in making sure that all plastic products are recyclable.

There are two key role players involved in a plastic EPR model—one is the organisations that use plastic during the production of products and packaging, and the second is the projects that collect plastics from the environment and recycle them into new products.

An EPR company takes the responsibility to recycle a similar amount of plastic they produce, which eventually comes into the landfills. The credits are acknowledged in the form of a plastic credit certificate based on the amount of plastic waste recycled.

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How to ensure success of plastic credit model?

The Indian government has already initiated a few steps to streamline the existing burden of plastic waste and organise the processes. The Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has decentralised this system and made it the prime responsibility of producers, importers, and brand owners (PIBOs) to collect used multi-layered plastic sheet, pouches, and packaging material introduced by them into the market under “Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR)” as part of Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016.

The recently enacted Plastic Waste Management Amendment Rules, 2021, prohibits the manufacture, import, stocking, distribution, sale, and use of several single-use plastics.

The first step in the ‘reducing and recycling’ approach is calculating the plastic footprint, which measures the consumption of plastic that people and organisations are wasting.

Plastic Waste Management Rules 2016 facilitate a statutory framework for the management of plastic waste and focus on plastic waste minimisation, recycling, and source segregation. There is an immediate need to generate awareness both on the consumer and manufacturer front to ensure the success of the plastic credit model. The plastic crediting system is an effective waste management tool that can create a major social and economic impact if implemented correctly.

Summing up

The concept of plastic credit has the potential to accelerate recycling activities and strengthen the ecosystem. To reduce the environmental impact caused by plastic waste, organisations also need to put effort, seek solutions, and work in this direction, which may help in minimising the impact of their business operations on the environment.