1 FLEXIBLE PACKAGING WASTE PREVENTION AND MANAGEMENT Mrs Almitra H Patel, Member, Supreme Court Committee for Solid Waste Management

Current Recycling Options PE, PP, PS can all be recycled to gatta (lumps), daana (pellets) and products: Pipe, Hard plastic articles, some film tubing. Soiled mixed-films (carrybags, road litter) can be usefully shredded to improve tar roads: over 5000 km since

Shredded Plastic Film Doubles Road Life Mixed plastic film is shredded to 2-4mm size and sprinkled onto heated mixed-stone aggregate. 30-second mixing time allows plastics to soften and uniformly coat hot stones like a baked-on primer. Molten asphalt added to this adheres well, doubles road life, reduces potholes, improves wet strength. See Central Pollution Control Board’s guidelines: PROBES/101/ & PROBES/122/

Current Recycling Problems Metallised multi-layer snack-food packaging is a national headache countrywide. No recycler wants it. The problem is nylon or polyester content which is incompatible with recycling of thermoplastic film components. Aluminium films block the wire-mesh strainers in gatta-making extruders, causing frequent down-time and cost. 4

Current Multifilm Disposal Burnt on roadsides, taken to open dumps. P2F polymer-to-fuel is a new option of unproven viability: its low bulk-density needs a large reactor volume, very costly transport from doorstep collector to P2F unit. Ideal opportunity for producers to comply with mandatory Extended Producer Responsibility: 100% depreciation for pollution abatement on mobile units operated for municipalities. 5

Design for Recycling / Disposal Use only compatible thermoplastic layers. Eliminate nylon and polyester layers. Work with plastics recyclers. For toffee wrappers,mini–sachets, pesti- cide pkg, use Compostable multifilms of BIS/ ISO / ASTM D / EN Use Compostable bio-plastic barrier-films in sanitary napkins & disposable diapers. 6