Overview of Plastic Waste Recycling Business

Once the plastic product or packaging is discarded after its utility is over, it is known as plastic waste. End consumers usually throw away such waste because of its nominal value, which the consumer chooses to ignore. However, this results in littering, unpleasant landscapes, choking drains, and polluting waterbodies with microplastics. It also harms human and animal health and severely affects the ecosystem. If the waste reaches the landfills along with solid waste, it stagnates the decomposition process of biodegradable waste and releases greenhouse gases. Recycling such plastic is t is one of the preferred ways to deal with plastic waste. Recycling transforms segregated plastic waste into purposeful products or raw materials for producing new products. However, the concern in this approach is the heterogeneous properties of unsegregated and littered plastic waste that remains scattered in the urban landscape. A Plastic Waste Recycling Business comes into the picture here. Such businesses are not only solving the problem of waste management by fixing all the above issues, but the recycling industry is also helping in developing a circular economy related to plastic. Plastic production and consumption in India would increase considerably due to increasing consumerism and urbanisation due to the rapid increase in population. Plastic waste will be a critical issue for India in the near future, as predicted by the World Economic Forum (WEF). Also, owing to the dependence of the plastic sector on petroleum, oil consumption will increase threefold, and the carbon budget will register an increase from 1% to 15% by 2050. The statistics will be fuelled due to the country's large amounts of plastic waste generation and related GHG emissions.

Market Overview of Plastic Waste Recycling Industry

Plastic is one of the critical components of India's economic growth. Whatever plastic is manufactured, approximately 60 % of it is recycled. Approximately 9.4 million TPA plastic waste is generated in the country, which amounts to 26,000 tonnes per day. Of this value, most of it is recycled by the informal plastic waste recycling businesses. Although the recycling rate in India is considerably higher than the global average of 20%, there is still over 9,400 tonnes of plastic waste, either landfilled or polluting streams or groundwater resources. Plastic waste recycling Businesses have proved their ability to fulfil this demand growth and contribute to the Indian economy in the process. India generates more than 15,000 tonnes of plastic waste daily, out of which 6,000 tonnes remain littered. Of the 60% of the plastic waste being recycled

, 70% is recycled at registered facilities

, 20% by the unorganised waste processing sector and the remaining 10% is recycled at home.

Business Opportunities in Plastic Waste Recycling

Recycled plastic has a broad range of applications in packaging films, wrapping materials, shopping and garbage bags, fluid containers, clothing, toys, household and industrial products, and building materials. There are immense opportunities in the plastic recycling business ranging from plastic waste collection, producing plastic granules, energy production from plastic waste, and even setting up highly profitable Producers Responsibility Organisations. (PRO). In a significant first, the 2022 guidelines for PWM Rules, 2016 allow for the sale and purchase of surplus extended producer responsibility certificates based on recycling plastic waste. Some of the popular plastic waste recycling businesses have been detailed in the following section.

• Reprocessed Plastic Granules: The reprocessing plastic granules businesses’ growth can be attributed to many factors like a low capital investment of the business and broad applicability of the finished product. Plastic reprocessing businesses also favour a circular approach in the economy concerning plastic products. Reprocessing plastic granules businesses, therefore, promise exponential growth.

• Waste to Energy Units: Pyrolysis is a relatively easy and widespread process of converting plastic waste into fuel. Many countries have successfully implemented the plastic-to-fuel conversion process, and some Indian businesses have started tapping into this highly profitable segment. Pyrolysis oil can be used as fuel oil in steel and iron industries, ceramics industries, power plants, chemical industries, and generators to produce electricity. Plastic fuel can also be used to operate heavy machinery, boiler heating, cement factory, steel factory, etc. Plastic oil can further be refined to light diesel by oil refinery plants and can be sold at higher prices than fuel oil.

Legal Formalities in Setting up Plastic waste Recycling Business

Apart from registering the unit, a person wanting to set up a plastic waste Recycling Business must obtain mandatory licences and authorisation. The following section provides an overview of the legal formalities needed to start a Plastic Waste Recycling business.

Company Incorporation: A Plastic waste Recycling Business must first obtain an incorporation certificate.

Consent NOC:  All industrial setups need to obtain Consent NOCs from their respective State Pollution Control Boards under the Air (P&CP) Act, 1981 and Water (P&CP) Act, 1974.

EPR authorisation: After the Plastic Waste (Management) Amendment Rules 2022, the Plastic Waste Processors must obtain prior EPR authorisation from the CPCB and submit an EPR Action Plan for the same.

Factory license: This licence is required by the establishment that comes under the ambit of the Factory Act, 1948. This Act mandates every industry owner to get certification from the local authorities before starting a business operation.

GST Registration: As per the present rules, the liability to register under GST arises when a “supplier” has an annual turnover of 40 lakhs and should avail of GST registration.

Additional Compliances: The Central Government has also called for establishing a centralised online portal by the Central Pollution Control Board for the registration and filing of annual returns by producers, importers and brand-owners, plastic waste processors of plastic packaging waste through a recent notification.

Documents needed to Set up a Plastic Waste Recycling Business

The documents a plastic waste Recycling Business needs depend on the licence and authorisation needed by the business. Documents Required for Plastic Waste Recycling Plant are as follows

• Business Registration/Incorporation Certificate
• Importer Exporter Code
• Factory licence
• GST registration
• No Objection Certificate (CTE, CTO) from SPCB/PCC
• Fire NOC
• Sole proprietor or Authorized Signatory KYC
• proof to establish the ownership of the site
• Memorandum of Association
• EPR authorisation
• EPR Action plan
• copy of permission from relevant Ministry/ Department
• Copy of agreement with dealers, collection centre, recyclers, treatment storage and disposal facilities (if applicable)
• Copy of trade licence issued by Directorate General of Foreign Trade

Significance of Plastic Waste Recycling Business in India

The Plastics recycling industry is also significantly contributing to the development and growth of various sectors like automotive, construction, electronics, healthcare, textiles and FMCG, which increasingly use recycled plastic. The new changes brought by the Plastic waste Management (Amendment) Rules, 2022 also put pressure on Producers, importers and brand owners of plastic items to use recycled plastic in their manufacturing process.

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