Collaborative Action Groups
The India Plastics Pact's signatories have committed to achieving four ambitious targets by 2030, and collaborative action lies at the core of this commitment.
Collaborative Action Groups (CAGs) are a crucial element of the Pact and it offers a platform to all signatories to advance solutions in support of the four target areas. Progress is enabled through detailed discussions and cross-sectoral collaborative action that addressed common challenges.
4.
25%
average recycled content across all plastic packaging
CAG 4
25% average recycled content across all plastic packaging
Target 4 of the Pact focuses on achieving at least 25% average recycled content in plastic packaging put on the Indian market by signatories. Increasing recycled content in plastic packaging is significantly beneficial to stakeholders, especially in meeting their Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) requirements.
CAG
Reuse and refill
The group will work to initiate the work on reuse and refill systems in India by
- defining reuse and refill within the Indian context,
- understanding the landscape of reuse and refill systems in India, and,
- developing a general framework to compare reuse and refill models.
CAG
Films and flexibles
This Collaborative Action Group was formed to work on flexible plastic packaging to
- increase collection and recycling of post-consumer flexible packaging,
- ensure upstream design changes to improve the value of post-consumer flexible packaging,
- increase closed-loop recycling of flexibles, and,
- ensure packaging as a preferred end-market for post-consumer recyclate.
CAG
Understanding citizen behaviour/attitudes
Changes in citizen behaviour are key to realizing the Targets of the India Plastics Pact. These include changes to disposal habits (for instance, segregation at source), what and how citizens purchase (for instance, desire to buy refillable packaging) or citizen attitudes to issues such as accepting products with recycled content or packaging made of alternative materials.
This Collaborative Action Group will focus on understanding citizen behaviour and attitudes in the Indian context.
1.
Define a list of unnecessary or problematic plastic packaging and items and take measures to address them through redesign and innovation
CAG 1
Defining a list of unnecessary or problematic plastic packaging items
Members of the group aimed to develop a list of unnecessary or problematic plastic packaging items which the Pact’s Members will address through redesign and innovation.
CAG members defined the criteria for ‘problematic and unnecessary’ plastics and drafted a list of target items and components for agreement and prioritization. The list formed was called the Ambition List, as it goes beyond the Government of India’s list of banned items and aspires to achieve more than what other Pacts initially agreed to do. With the list now finalised, the Pact’s Members will now take action on these items across their supply chains.
2.
100%
of plastic packaging to be reusable, recyclable or compostable*
CAG 2
Designing plastic packaging to be 100% reusable, recyclable or compostable
This group has worked to develop guidance to ensure that 100% of plastic packaging placed by Pact Members on the market is designed to be reusable, recyclable, or compostable.
Through the CAG’s activities, members defined 'reusable', 'recyclable', and 'compostable' plastic packaging in the Indian context.
The Secretariat also undertook a survey with recyclers to understand the different plastic packaging formats/resins being recycled in India, and the aspects of the packaging composition/design which could affect the recyclability of such plastic packaging. Based on this survey, design guidances were developed to enhance recyclability of packaging.
3.
50%
of plastic packaging to be effectively recycled
CAG 3
Increasing quantity of plastics packaging effectively recycled
This Collaborative Action Group worked on identifying the challenges in the existing recycling value chain, infrastructure requirements, technical gaps, and funding requirements, along with practical solutions to mitigate these challenges. Two Sprint Groups were formed to focus on the following areas:
Sprint Group 1: Informal waste sector engagement
Sprint Group 2: Citizen awareness and engagement campaigns
Outputs
- Insights report: The role of the informal waste sector in the Indian waste plastics system
- Insights report: Landscape assessment of plastic recycling in India
- Project Management Toolkit for Inclusion of the Informal Plastic Waste Recycling Sector
- A compendium of case studies: informal waste sector engagement
- Voices from the waste: plastic waste management by the informal waste sector