Innovative Solutions for Effective Plastic Waste Management

A case Study by United Nations Development Program (UNDP)

About UNDP
UNDP works in almost 170 countries and territories, helping to achieve the eradication of
poverty, and the reduction of inequalities and exclusion. We help countries to develop policies,
leadership skills, partnering abilities, institutional capabilities and build resilience in order to
sustain development results. UNDP has worked in India since 1951 in almost all areas of human
development, from democratic governance to poverty eradication, to sustainable energy and
environmental management. UNDP’s programmes are aligned with national priorities and are
reviewed and adjusted annually.

Background
Plastic are petroleum based products derived from non-renewable sources produced by
heating hydrocarbons in a cracking process & polymerization. Plastics can be moulded into
a permanent or a temporary object. There are about 50 different groups of plastics, with
hundreds of different varieties. In India, the consumption of plastic, in the day to day
human life, in different forms is increasing by an average of 10% every year. By
2020, plastics consumption of the country is expected to touch 20 million metric tonnes per
annum (MMTPA). Some of the examples of plastic consumption include: plastic bags, plastic
coatings, plastic furniture, plastic sheets, plastic fittings, plastic tanks, plastic toys, plastic
buckets, plastic sanitary ware, plastic stationery, etc. The advantages of plastic include:
resistance to chemicals, water and impact; good safety and hygiene properties for food
packaging; excellent thermal and electrical insulation properties; relatively inexpensive to
produce; lighter weight than competing materials, reducing fuel consumption during
transportation, etc.

Like other consumables, plastic also have few disadvantages as it is not readily
decomposable, difficult to recycle, non-renewable, hard to reuse and pose threat to animals
and environment. Plastic materials like carry bags, bottles disposable plastic plates, cups,
glass, etc. having no resale value are just thrown out & littered around, which contributes to
generation of plastic waste leading to serious problems for municipal solid waste (MSW)
management. Rapid urbanization, population growth and industrial development have
increased the consumption of plastic in India, leading to a proportional increase in the
quantity of plastic waste generation. Plastic waste constitutes about 9 % of total MSW
generated in the country per day. India generates 5.6 million metric tons of plastic
waste annually, according to a report from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB),
Govt. of India, in year 2015-16.

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Brief on Project on Integrated Plastic Waste Management
This initiative is designed to minimize negative impacts and risks to environment and to
human health in India, by enhancing sustainable Plastic Waste Management practices,
through a socio-technical model (segregation/collection/ recycling) while ensuring
compliance with regulations, to improve use of resources and in line with Swacch Bharat
Mission in India; in this project the waste pickers (Safaii Mitras) will be institutionalized
with respective governance mechanisms and attain improved social conditions. Project’s
targets at the end of period are, to better manage an amount more than 85,000 MT/year of
plastic waste and to improve socio-economic conditions of 30,000 plus Safaii Mitras.

Some of the plastic will be utilized by the women SHGs for enterprise development. This
integrated plastic waste management approach will have following benefits at social,
economic and environmental levels:
 Creation of employment opportunities for Safaii Mitras with Dignity & Respect
 Enterprise development by creating women self-help groups to empower women.
 Developing an efficient system of waste collection and segregation
 Reduction of Transportation Costs (owing to bailing of waste vs transporting loose
waste)
 Huge savings for cement factories in terms of fuel cost (calorific value of plastic is 1.5
times more than that of coal)
 Reduction in carbon emission from burning of plastic waste instead of coal
 Prevention of choking of sewage lines ensuring health and hygiene and avoiding
flooding during rainy seasons

The project will be on a partnership approach with various facilitating NGOs,

municipalities, ULBs, Gram Panchayats, state regulatory authorities, state urban
development department, state environment department, RWAs and other stake holders.
UNDP will extend its support for management of the implementation program at all the
selected cities. The proposed project builds on the extensive experience of UNDP in the
country on a diverse range of aspects including ecological restoration, water management,
institution building, capacity development and community mobilization.

Problem Statement
Students are expected to share a comprehensive understanding of the following and suggest
solutions with respect to implementation of the project:

1. Design the value chain for Integrated Plastic Waste Management

2. How to create awareness among stakeholders on the importance of segregation of waste?
3. What tools or innovative mechanisms can be used to sensitize people about plastic waste
management?
4. How can the government departments be linked to ensure hassle free implementation?
5. Design an innovative strategy to make this model successful and profitable.

Format
• The case analysis document must be in MS Word/PDF format (.doc/.docx/.pdf)
• Must not exceed 2000 words (excluding exhibits and excel sheets)
• Font Type: Arial/ Calibri with text size of 11

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