CK Mishra: Innovation can be a powerful solution for plastic waste in India

At the outset, CK Mishra said, "I have been feeling that over the last one year, the ministry has not been communicating enough. And we need to communicate far more and at multiple levels. That is one of the major reasons I thought I'll be here. We want to share our thoughts with you and also understand what is transpiring in the industry."

He mentioned how technology innovation is one of the powerful solutions for countries like India to address the issue of plastic waste. He said, there has been progress on collaborative R&D and innovation, but challenges exist in accessing technology due to high investment costs and intellectual property issues. He felt, "such an issue could be resolved only if all the stakeholders could continuously discuss the issues, together. It's extremely doable and eminently doable in our country. That is provided each one of us understand what our contribution is going to be."

He said, "There is a focus on the word: sustainability. But unfortunately, many of us interpret the term, sustainability, the way we would like it to be interpreted. Sustainability cannot have different definitions, it has to have only one definition. And all of us need to agree about that common definition."

He complimented the industry leaders, There is industry growth, what with the chemical industry being the sixth largest producer in the world, and flexible packaging being one of the fast growing segments with a CAGR of 16%." But he had a word of caution, "Growth has introduced problems. Today our per capita consumption is low at 4.3 kg as compared to Germany and UK. If India is to become a USD 5 trillion economy, then plastic consumption is not going to go down, it is going to go up."

His word of caution was: as the economy grows, waste will grow.

He said, "Therefore, we need to put our heads together to decide how this growth story will be written? How do we work out a solution by which that does not create a problem. But that becomes a wealth for us.

Mishra felt there is an opportunity in converting plastic waste into resource.

He said, the raging debate in various forums is about growth versus environment or ecology versus economy. This, according to him,  is a non starter. He said, it's about how we do both things, together.

He said, "Of course, India has its development imperatives. And we will continue to fulfil the development aspirations of the Indian people. But while we do so, we need to be extremely  responsible. As a responsible nation, we will try and see what is the best possible way of doing it. For this, first and foremost, we need to acknowledge the problem that global warming is for real and climate change is for real."

CK Mishra felt there was a segment of the industry which was still in a denial mode. He extolled the industry to get out of that denial mode. He said, "Unless we acknowledge the problem, we will never be able to find a solution to the problem. And the solution lies with the industry. You are the ones who will provide the government with a solution whereby the government can help you implement it."

His message was: India is one of the fastest growing economy. Which is why, fingers will be pointed every time we contribute negatively to any aspect of the climate change. Therefore, we need to be far more careful than the rest of the globe."

He repeated that plastics is not a bad thing.  In fact it's an extremely good thing, but the moment plastic waste goes into the earth or the sea, it's a bad thing. So the idea is how do we prevent it from going there, rather than how do we prevent it from being used."

It is in this sense, that PM Modi has renewed his appeal to the people, in his Independence Day speech, to make India free of one time use plastics. "In response to the Prime Minister's call on India’s 73rd Independence day, to make India free of single use plastics, a massive public campaign will be launched engaging all stakeholders. In this regard a series of meetings will be held with all stakeholders including industry leaders and scientists to chalk out a concrete plan to make it a people's campaign to realise the ultimate target."

Secretary Mishra said, India has made a global and domestic commitment to the environment. He said, "it's based on the confidence that the Indian industry will rise to the occasion and help us achieve this. And therefore, I keep saying that we need to work out a joint strategy."

He concluded his 22 minute address by stating, "We have been known as a ministry that blocks things, but I want to say it loud and clear that we would love to be known not as a regulating ministry but as a development partner. Our job is to help the industry. We are willing to create a platform where there's space for every single voice, where everyone can be heard so that we find a solution. I hope we find a magic pill during this conference which will help us move forward."