Our cover story of the month in TerraGreen on ‘India’s actions to beat plastic pollution’ underscores the significance of the collective and multifarious roles of the citizenry in addressing the global crisis – ‘plastic pollution’ which remained the key focus of the recent World Environment Day celebration through an innovative #BeatPlasticPollution campaign, hosted by Côte d’Ivoire. The need of the hour is to build synergy among various stakeholders like governments, industries, packaged goods companies, waste management workers, consumers, innovators, and the public—across the plastic value chain— and co-create plausible solutions.

India is the fifth-highest generator of plastic waste in the world. In 2022, India banned single-use plastic (SUP) items that have low utility but are often littered, harming land and marine ecosystems. From a utilitarian perspective, plastic waste generated in India is currently utilized for recycling, road construction, waste-to-energy plants, waste-to-oil plants, and in cement plants for co-processing. India has taken sound and effective measures for plastic waste management by putting a ban on SUP items (having low utility and high littering potential) and imposing Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) on plastic packaging.

Other initiatives include a centralized EPR portal (single point data repository for EPR guidelines), the sale and purchase of EPR certificates (to set up a market mechanism), and environmental compensation for the non-fulfillment of EPR targets. In 2021, a Roadmap for Circular Economy for Plastics in India was developed by TERI that entailed three key priority areas, namely adoption of sustainable material solutions, increasing the supply of good quality secondary plastics feedstock, and promoting alternative uses of plastics waste. Considering the actions taken up at the national and state levels in India, a range of key considerations are needed to shape sustainable solutions for plastic waste management, including uncertainties related to alternatives to SUPs (with respect to environmental fate and socio-economic impacts), challenges faced by the industries, impacts on underprivileged communities, and the informal recycling sector.

   With this cover story and other articles of current interest, we hope that you enjoy reading this issue of TerraGreen and take a firm resolution of making our planet free from plastic pollution. Hope this online magazine provides an opportunity to reflect on the issue in question and connect researchers and practitioners to ponder over innovative solutions.