(L to R) Indraneel Chitale, Dr Rajesh Manerikar, Dr Sameer Joshi, Dr Medha Tadpatrikar, Rutuja Bhasme

Plastic recycling cannot succeed through isolated action by brands or regulators alone, but requires an ecosystem-wide approach involving citizen participation and awareness, believes Indraneel Chitale, Managing Partner, Chitale Bandhu. Speaking at the recently concluded Recycling Vision Series 2026, Pune, he said the city has the potential to drive a sustainable revolution if stakeholders work cohesively.

A panel discussion on “Plastics Recycling: EPR, Compliance and Market Realities” brought together voices from industry, policy, sustainability, and grassroots recycling to examine how India’s plastics ecosystem is evolving amid tightening compliance norms, rising recycled content mandates, and changing market realities. Moderated by Dr. Sameer Joshi, Chairman, Governing Council, Indian Plastics Institute, the session featured Dr. Medha Tadpatrikar, Founder/Director, Rudra Environmental Solutions; Dr. Rajesh Manerikar, Founder Member and CEO, Poornam Ecovision Foundation; and Rutuja Bhasme, Director, Wotastic Solutions, alongside Chitale.

Dr. Joshi reflected on the evolution of waste management and noted that conversations around “zero waste” have changed significantly over time. He also highlighted how packaging has evolved and stressed that plastic waste management can improve only when all stakeholders work together.

Brands under pressure

Representing the brand perspective, Chitale said, “The food industry currently finds itself at a critical juncture where plastics remain indispensable for food preservation and distribution, even as sustainability concerns intensify.”

He noted that while plastics remain unavoidable, they must be used responsibly with greater awareness of their environmental impact. According to Chitale, brands are now approaching sustainability through material innovation and stronger supply chain tracking systems to better understand where packaging ends up after consumption.

He pointed out that brands typically only hear from consumers when there is a complaint, making it difficult to close the circular loop. As a result, incentivising consumers to return packaging into the recycling system remains one of the industry’s biggest unresolved challenges.

Logistics and traceablity challenges

Dr. Tadpatrikar traced the evolution of plastic recycling discussions in India since 2009, noting that until 2018 the focus was largely on awareness creation.

“Today, however, the conversation has shifted toward how recycling can be carried out sustainably and at scale. Logistics has emerged as one of the biggest barriers in plastics recycling because plastics are volumetric, and transporting low-value waste across distances often becomes financially and environmentally unviable,” she said.

She also highlighted the increasing complexity of plastic materials and noted that sophisticated packaging structures have made recycling far more challenging than before.

According to her, Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) has shifted from a CSR-led approach to a compliance-driven framework. However, traceability remains a major hurdle, particularly in India where much of the collection and sorting ecosystem still operates informally.

Drawing from her experience in both waste collection and recycling, Tadpatrikar said she “wears two hats” and therefore understands challenges across the ecosystem. Her work spans awareness creation, plastic collection, plastic-to-fuel operations, and the use of plastics in road construction.

Awareness and collection gaps

Speaking on the role of corporates, Dr. Manerikar stressed that awareness remains central to improving waste collection and closing the recycling loop.

“Organised collection backed by CSR funding could significantly improve recycling outcomes because solutions already exist, but the missing link is the infrastructure and support needed to channel waste into formal recycling systems,” he added.

He also noted that a large share of waste continues flowing into the informal sector due to limited awareness and inadequate systems. While India already has significant recycling capacity, he said knowledge gaps continue to weaken recycling rates.

AI cannot replace foundational systems

The discussion also explored the role of artificial intelligence in waste management. Tadpatrikar cautioned that while AI is widely discussed, India’s recycling ecosystem still depends heavily on informal workers and human-centric systems.

Unless foundational systems are strengthened first, she argued, AI alone cannot transform waste management in India.

EPR implementation hurdles

Bhasme focused on the implementation realities of EPR rather than the policy framework itself. "The sector currently faces four major barriers: lack of awareness, increasing compliance requirements, reluctance among small recyclers to formalise, and the challenge of monetising EPR credits at smaller scales," she informed.

She further explained that many small recyclers continue operating informally because they are wary of inspections, renewals, documentation requirements, and complex online compliance systems. Without the manpower or digital capabilities required to operate within formal systems, many are unable to benefit from EPR credits despite actively recycling waste.

At the same time, Bhasme acknowledged that the sector is gradually transitioning towards formalisation and believes the changes will eventually benefit the industry, though the process will take time.

Shift towards recyclable packaging

Chitale elaborated on how his company has consciously shifted away from laminated flexible packaging towards rigid packaging formats wherever possible. He said rigid packaging retains greater value within the recycling chain, creating stronger incentives for collection at the end-of-life stage.

He also noted that the company has increasingly moved from lamination to co-extrusion technologies, which simplify recyclability by eliminating the need for delamination before processing.

However, Chitale admitted these sustainability improvements come at a cost consumers are currently unwilling to bear, especially in commoditised products such as milk packaging where margins remain thin.

Digital EPR ecosystem

On the evolving EPR ecosystem, Bhasme highlighted that one of the biggest changes under the new system is the move towards fully digital portal-based operations aimed at minimising human intervention.

Referring to past irregularities, she noted that nearly 15 lakh fake EPR credits had reportedly been generated and sold in previous years. The new portal system, she said, is intended to improve transparency and traceability despite existing usability challenges.

Bhasme also revealed that authorities are working towards integrating all waste streams, including plastic, e-waste, batteries, tyres, and used oil, into a single-window compliance portal to ease compliance burdens for recyclers.

Recycling economics and waste-to-energy

Tadpatrikar argued that low-value plastics remain economically unattractive, and unless EPR systems create stronger incentives, recycling rates for such materials will remain low.

Chitale added that past attempts to incentivise consumers through reward systems had failed because the financial incentives were too small to drive behavioural change. He suggested future systems could use digital tools, including tokenisation and reward-based mechanisms, to encourage better recycling behaviour.