• In a unique collaboration, ITC and SWaCH will work with Pune Municipal  Corporation to create a scalable and sustainable model to incentivize  collection of MLP waste and channelize it for recycling
• The programme will create an additional  income stream for waste collectors involved in collection and sorting of multi-layered-plastic  waste and would also be a boon to  the environment by preventing multi-layered-plastic waste from accumulating in  landfill sites
• Current  setup can process 200 MT of MLP waste monthly with the potential to be  efficiently scaled up to cover the entire city

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.

According to Mr. D. S. Molak, Jt.  Commissioner, Pune Municipal Corporation (SWM): “The city of Pune has been a  frontrunner in achieving amongst the highest levels of segregation of dry and  wet wastes at source in the country. However, we were facing a huge challenge in  managing the growing quantum of multi-layered-plastic waste because of lack of  interest from the recycling trade chain in processing the such material. As a  result, multi-layered-plastic waste was ending up in landfill sites in large  volumes. The present initiative of ITC and SWaCH with active support from PMC  presents a new approach towards providing a step-by-step solution and energizing  the waste collection chains with specific focus on multi-layered-plastics which  will go a long way in protecting the environment. We at PMC are proud to be  among the first ones to adopt a sustainable model of this kind and scale for  recycling managing multi-layered plastics in the country”.

According to Mr. Chitranjan Dar, Head of  Projects, EHS and Quality Assurance, ITCLimited: "ITC's initiatives in  solid waste management of which plastic waste management is a significant  component, aim at providing a 360-degree solutions framework to address the  critical issue of waste management through packaging optimization, resource  conservation, recycling of waste generated in its operations, source  segregation, collection, reuse and recycling. Over the next decade, ITC will  deploy superior solutions so that 100% of its product packaging will be  reusable, recyclable or compostable. ITC’s flagship initiative Wellbeing out of  Waste (WOW), focuses on providing an end-to-end sustainable and a scalable  solution spanning the entire value chain right from awareness, segregation,  collection and promotion, reuse or recycle of solid waste. The benefits of this  programme extends to 77 lakh citizens of the country. Today, ITC has the  distinction of being a Solid Waste Recycling Positive Company for the  last 12 years

“With the ITC-SWaCH-PMC partnership for the city of  Pune, we are taking yet another landmark step in building a model which goes  beyond segregation of solid waste, to addressing one of the acute challenges of  managing and recycling of the mounting multi-layered-plastic waste. We, along  with our partners are looking forward to expanding the programme to cover the  entire city of Pune in near future”

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Sarthak  Tapasvi from SWaCH said: “In ITC, we have found a willing and a supportive  partner with a long-term commitment to build an outcome-focused sustainable  waste management model for multi-layered-plastic waste.  ITC with its valuable management expertise,  is playing an instrumental role in enabling a socially and financially  sustainable model which incentivizes the existing recycling trade in the city  while at the same time channelizing maximum benefit to the principle recyclers:  the waste-pickers. The model for the first time introduces a price for MLP  waste which creates an incentive for the waste collectors to collect and sort  MLP waste as a separate stream. This program ensures a direct linkage between  the citizens (generators), the waste-pickers, and the recyclers, with potential  for city-wise scale through replication.”

Said Mr. Harshad Barde, General Secretary  of the waste picker union, KKPKP: “Waste pickers are often slammed for the  waste that escapes the collection stream and litters the streets for no fault  of theirs. For the first time, a waste management programme recognizes the  importance of adequately incentivizing the waste segregators and waste pickers  for collecting multi-layered-plastic waste, which so far did not exist. This  initiative will positively and directly impact waste pickers by creating value  financially, whilst benefitting the environment.”  

The ITC-SWaCH-PMC model enables collection of  good quality MLP waste straight from the source which opens up multiple avenues  of end uses including recycling. The value realization from applications like  recycling is made possible as this waste is segregated at source and it is this  value which gets transferred to the waste collector in the form of incremental  income, over and above the proceeds from sale of other recyclables. The model  also lessens the burden on the municipal waste management system by diverting  waste from landfill, thereby resulting in environment stewardship.

As a first step, the model involves  introducing a price for MLP waste which creates an incentive for the waste  collectors to collect and sort MLP waste as a separate stream. Next, the entire  supply chain is set up to transfer the waste from collection points across the  city to an MLP Collection Hub. At the hub, the aggregated MLP waste is further  sorted, baled and shipped to a recycling partner.

Mangal Umap, a SWaCH member and one of the  first to contribute in the new programme says, “This (MLP) was one of the  waste items that we did not know what to do with. Storage is not easy as it’s  voluminous and no one was willing to take it. It ended up as inert waste in  landfills. For those of us who work in waste, every little bit that we can  divert away from the waste stream is heartening." She has already diverted  160 Kgs of MLP waste in the first effort. “Thanks to the programme by ITC and  SwaCH, we can now divert this waste away from the waste stream on a regular  basis and also earn additional incomes” she says.