Dabur India, which initiated a plastic waste recycling project in 2016 with a few other companies, plans to expand the project in Tamil Nadu this year.
According to Priyank Arya, Corporate Head - Environment, Health, and Safety, and Byas Anand, Head of Corporate Communications of Dabur India, the company plans to collect 3,18,000 kg of plastic waste, which are used and thrown by consumers, this financial year in the State. It rolled out the project in Tamil Nadu last fiscal, covering seven cities including Coimbatore and Pollachi. It collected 1,10,000 kg of plastic waste involving 100 rag pickers.
The company collects recyclable plastic waste, multi-layered plastic waste (such as sachets), and beverage cartons. It works with a nodal agency and non-government organisations in the State who, in turn, work with the rag pickers. The plan is to expand the project to 10 to 12 more cities and involve totally 500 rag pickers this year. They get ₹9,000 to ₹10,000 for a tonne of multi-layered plastic (MLP) waste collected.
The project was started on a trial basis first in National Capital Region and Gujarat and later extended to six States. This year, it will cover nearly 25 States. About 35 companies are now involved in the project across the country.
While PET bottles can be recycled, the MLP cannot be. The rag pickers avoid the MLP as there are no buyers. The company has put in a system to create awareness among the public, train rag pickers, transport the waste collected, and pay the rag pickers for the MLP collected. It works with waste paper dealers and encourages them to segregate the MLP. The MLP collected is sent to cement kilns and waste-to-energy plants, they say.
By 2021, the company plans to collect 5,20,000 MLP in Tamil Nadu, so that 100 % of the non-recyclable waste generated is collected the reused, they add.
