Plastics Carry Bags Benefits, Issues, Realities & Solutions

CONTENTS CARRY BAGS - WHY PLASTICS ? PLASTIC BAGS - COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS ENVIRONMENTAL BURDEN FOR ALTERNATIVES TO PLASTIC CARRY BAGS ISSUES SOLUTIONS – WASTE MANAGEMENT & RECYCLING RECOMMENDATION

WHY PLASTICS ? Replacing Traditional Materials …Due to Superior Properties Safe & Hygienic – Inert and Chemical Resistance Light Weight & Non-Breakability Excellent Barrier Properties - Enhancing Shelf-life Superior Impact Resistance Transparency as well as Opacity Lower Fuel Consumption and Product Loss during Transportation All These… at Lesser Cost Material Energy Requirement KWH Kg-1 Aluminum 74.1 Steel 13.9 Glass 7.9 Paper 7.1 Plastic 3.1 Scott, G and Gilead, D., editors, Degradable Polymers, Principles and Application, Chapman & Hall, London, 1995

PLASTICS Global Consumption of plastics ~ 180 million tonnes (Per Capita ~ 28kg) Indian Consumption of plastics ~6.5 million tonnes ( Per Capita ~ 6kg) Plastic carry bag accounts for less than 1% of total plastic consumption.

ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS

PLASTICS : TOP GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSION SAVER In 2005, Total Global Emissions was 46 GtCO2e It could have been 51.2 Gt CO2e, but for the savings by Chemical Industry Savings by Chemical Industry 11% Among The Top 10 Green House Gas Emission Saving Sectors - 4 are Plastics Piping Insulation Materials Packaging Automobiles Plastics save green house gas emissions And save the earth from Global Warming Source: McKinsey cLCA study for International Council of Chemical Association

GHG EMISSION SAVING BY PLASTICS PACKAGING Total Saving ˜ 220 Mt CO2e Plastics Carry Bags reduce GHG emission Source: McKinsey cLCA study for International Council of Chemical Association

ALTERNATIVES TO PLASTICS CARRY BAGS? Jute Textile Paper Degradable Plastics COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE VARIOUS OPTIONS 

ENERGY SAVING: 1 LAC MT. OF ATTA PACKAGING Jute Vs Plastic Energy consumption in GJ for Manufacturing Raw Materials, Packaging and Transportation of Atta Energy saving – 81% Energy recovery with plastics waste-35 GJ Source: LCA Study by IIT (Delhi) The comparison holds good for Plastics Vs Jute Carry Bags

Environmental Burden in kg Excess Emission for jute Bags Jute Bag Vs Plastic Bag During production of raw Material & bags During transportation of the finished bags Environmental Burden in kg Jute Bag Plastic Bag Air Pollution CO 54.3 0.6 CO2 6610.2* 760* SOx 134.8 5.2 Nox 68.1* 4.8* CH4 39.5 3.2 HCL 5.3 Dust 67.6 1.4 Water Pollution Suspended Solids 352.3 0.2 Chlorides 4535.5 0.1 Emission Gm/km Excess Emission for jute Bags Plastic Bags CO2 781* 11107.3* Taken as Basis CO 4.5 64.0 HC 1.1 15.6 NOx 8* 113.8* Particulates 0.36 5.1 Total Regulated Tailpipe Emission 13.96 198.5 * High potential for Global Warming **Values are for Packaging of One Lac MT of Atta Source – Report by Centre for Polymer Science and Engineering, IIT - Delhi

AIR & WATER POLLUTION Polyethylene Vs Paper Energy for ↑ Manufacture Emissions → Figures for 50, 000 carry bags Source: Scott, G and Gilead, D., Editors, Degradable Polymers, Principles and Application, Chapman & Hall, London, 1995

PLASTIC & TEXTILE BAGS Plastics manufacturing consumes 400 kwh/mt while composite textile mills consume 1310 kwh/mt Textile contributes 30% SOx (second highest by any sector) and 23% NOx (highest by any sector) Source : Warmer Bulletin, July 01 This gives a comparative analysis of environmental burden generated by paper, jute & textile bags which are not visible to naked eyes though, in comparison to plastic bags!

PLASTICS BAGS / CARRY BAGS Increase shelf-life of contents Essential for packaging / carrying of confectionery, bakery products hygroscopic products like sugar / salt / jaggary Convenient for carrying fish / meat / poultry and other wet food products – no other appropriate alternatives Essential to carry commodities during rainy season Add convenience to day-to-day life

PLASTIC & PAPER CARRY BAGS Plastic carry bags generate 60 % less GHG than uncomposted paper bags & 79% than composted paper bags Source: ULS LCA Report, USA and other reports

PLASTIC & PAPER CARRY BAGS Plastic grocery bags consume 40% less energy during production and generate 80% less solid waste after use. Source: ULS LCA Report, USA and other reports

PLASTIC & PAPER CARRY BAGS Plastic grocery bags consume 40% less energy during production and generate 80% less solid waste after use than paper bags. Source: ULS LCA Report, USA and other reports

PLASTIC & PAPER CARRY BAGS Source: ULS LCA Report, USA and other reports

PLASTIC & PAPER CARRY BAGS Paper bags generate 70% more air pollutants and ~ 50 times more water pollutants than plastic bags do. Source: ULS LCA Report, USA and other reports

PLASTIC & PAPER CARRY BAGS Plastics and Paper both can be recycled. However it takes 91% less energy to recycle a kg of plastic than a kg of paper. Source: ULS LCA Report, USA and other reports

PLASTIC & PAPER CARRY BAGS 150,000 plastic bags of 20 cm x 30 cm x 40 micron needs 1 small tempo for transportation Paper bags of same size & number need ~ 10 such tempos for transportation - due to higher weight and volume Consuming more fuel and causing more air pollution

DESPITE ALL THESE POSITIVE ATTRIBUTES … PLASTIC BAGS ARE UNDER SCANNER

MAJOR ISSUES Health & safety Toxicity Biodegradability Disposal & waste management

HEALTH & SAFETY Polythene is approved safe material for Use … In contact with food, pharmaceuticals and drinking water As implants within human body In medical applications like IV bottle, Packaging of tablets For Packaging of Liquid Milk Plastic Carry Bags are generally made from Polyethylene

TOXICITY Issue: Plastics are termed as toxic and injurious to health Fact: Plastics are inert materials and do not pose any danger of toxicity Emissions during processing of plastics are well within regulatory norms (study by SIIR – Delhi) Additives used in plastics are approved as per BIS / FDA standards Emissions at fire situation have similar or lesser implications in comparison to situation involving natural organic materials like wood, paper & cotton Emissions during burning of paper and polyethylene are similar

BIODEGRADABILITY Issue: Non-biodegradability property of plastics carry bags is termed as the major reason of waste management problem Plastics are useful for its long life characteristics Nothing decomposes substantially in modern landfills. It requires additional mechanical action for composting degradable waste Indian Landfills does not practice Composting Activity

BIODEGRADABLE OR RECYCLABLE PLASTICS ? Compostable plastics will degrade/compost only in composting conditions The concept of Biodegradable Plastics will encourage littering Spurious products cannot be detected in market place causing flooding of fake bags A mixture of degradable and non-degradable plastics will disturb the plastics recycling activity During decomposition stage biodegradable plastics emit CO2 and CH4 – both green house gases

BIODEGRADATION OR RECYCLING ? Biodegradable Plastics have been developed However these are required in applications where recycling is not possible or difficult Developed countries – major manufacturers of BD Plastics – have not mandated use of Biodegradable Plastics Carry Bags in their countries Reuse and Recycling is preferred over degradation to encourage Resource Management

USE OF BIODEGRADABLE PLASTICS Recommended applications of BD plastics: Nursery Bags, Mulch/Agricultural film, One – time use Cutlery / Cups etc to be Carried in Ships / Remote areas Lamination on jute – paper for Relevant Packaging Applications etc

DISPOSAL Issue: Plastics are blamed as the major cause of MSW problem Facts: According to studies plastics form about 5% of total MSW in major Indian Metros A recent study at Deonar dumping area (Mumbai) reveals that ~ 90 % of plastics waste brought to the landfill are picked up by rag pickers and sold to waste trades for recycling

PLASTICS IN MSW NEERI study - 2005

ISSUE – INDIAN CONTEXT WHILE ALL SOLID / THICK PLASTICS WASTE IS SYSTEMATICALLY PICKED UP BY THE WASTE COLLECTORS FOR RECYCLING, DISPOSAL OF THIN PLASTIC CARRY BAGS, SINGLE-USE PLASTIC WASTE AND MULTI-LAYER PACKETS, ABANDONED BY THE WASTE PICKERS, HAVE CREATED SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT PROBLEM

PLASTIC CARRY BAGS : GLOBAL MATRIX No developed country in the world has any thickness restriction of Plastic Carry bags No country in the world has mandated use of Biodegradable Plastics for any mass commodity product like Carry Bags In California - USA, initial measures for banning of normal plastic bags in favour of biodegradable plastics / paper bags has been stricken down by the Superior Court asking for conducting LCA study on the products France dropped its earlier proposal for banning of normal plastic bags in favour of Biodegradable Plastic Bags on the direction from EU Parliament

PLASTIC CARRY BAGS : GLOBAL MATRIX Australia has plans to reduce the use of thin HDPE bags by 50% over a period of three years Some developed countries levy tax on all packaging materials including plastic carry bags – to meet the cost of managing the waste Many developing countries including China & India have thickness and size restrictions Only Bangladesh and some African nations have imposed ban on plastic carry bags

PLASTIC CARRY BAGS : INDIAN RULES IN THE STATES OF MAHARASHTRA, GOA, WEST BENGAL, MEGHALAYA, PUNJUB, HIMACHAL PRADESH, KERALA THE THICKNESS RULE VARIES FROM 30 TO 70 MICRONS IN DELHI , CHANDIGARH AND J & K, PLASTICS CARRY BAGS ARE BANNED ALL OTHER STATES FOLLOW MoEF RULE OF 20 MICRONS

SOLUTION TO DISPOSAL PROBLEM Segregation at source – awareness among citizens against littering Proper system for collection of segregated wastes for facilitating recycling Incentives / encouragement for recycling Upgradation of the existing mechanical recycling technology Encouragement for alternate methods of recycling / recovery of energy

WASTE MANAGEMENT: CASE STUDY

SEGREGATION OF WASTE AT SOURCE ‘A’ – WARD MUMBAI Rag pickers with van Loading of dry waste in Municipality van Dry waste being carried for loading into Municipality van Municipality van with dry waste on way to segregation area Dry waste at housing colonies

SEGREGATION OF WASTE AT SOURCE ‘A’ – WARD MUMBAI Segregation of dry waste Storing of segregation dry waste in secured place Segregation of dry waste being weighed and sold to recyclers / traders Packing of segregated dry waste

There is wealth in Waste DRY WASTE SEGREGATION DATA MUMBAI WARDS – A, D, F(N), M (E & W), S & T A comparative assessment of the segregation activities in select Mumbai Wards BMC provides dry waste collection vans and secured segregation area free of cost There is wealth in Waste

CONVENTIONAL RECYCLING

CONVENTIONAL RECYCLING

CONVENTIONAL RECYCLING

NON-CONVENTIONAL RECYCLING AND RECOVERY Co-processing in Cement Kilns / Energy Recovery Conversion to Fuel Construction of Asphalt Road Conversion to Basic Chemical

FUEL FROM WASTE PLASTICS Invention by Indian Scientist Dr. Alka Zadgaonkar Raisoni College of Engineering, Nagpur

SCIENTIFIC SOLUTION TO PLASTICS WASTE DISPOSAL WITH RECOVERY OF ENERGY ACC Plant at Kymore - MP CALORIFIC VALUES (MJ / KG) : Plastics ~ 45 : Coal ~ 29 All types of plastics waste – laminated, mixed & uncleaned, can be co-processed in Cement Kiln in partial replacement of coal CPCB HAS APPROVED THE PROCESS

PLASTICS WASTE IN ROAD CONSTRUCTION ASPHALT PLANT OF BMC, WORLI, MUMBAI Prof. V S AGHASE ROAD DADAR, MUMBAI

PLASTICS WASTE IN ROAD CONSTRUCTION Vidyasagar Street – Kalyani, West Bengal

PLASTICS WASTE IN ROAD CONSTRUCTION Bawana, Delhi

RECOMMENDATIONS IMPLEMENTATION OF COMPREHENSIVE PACKAGING WASTE RULE SIMILAR TO THOSE PREVAILING IN DEVELOPED COUNTRIES PROPER IMPLEMENTATION OF MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE (MANAGEMENT & HANDLING) RULE, 2000 OF MoEF, GOVT OF INDIA UNIFORM PLASTIC CARRY BAG THICKNESS RULE IN THE ENTIRE COUNTRY AND PROPER IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SAME

RECOMMENDATIONS ENCOURAGEMENT AND INCENTIVES FOR RECYCLING ACTIVITY AS PER RECOMMENDATION IN THE SUPREME COURT COMMITTEE REPORT ON SWM IN CLASS I CITIES OF INDIA – 1999 MANDATING CO-PROCESSING OF PLASTICS WASTE IN ALL CEMENT KILNS IN THE COUNTRY

AWARENESS MESSAGE TO ALL CITIZENS