MATERIALS / RECYCLING PETplanet Insider Vol. 24 No. 01+02/23 www.petpla.net 15 MATERIALS / RECYCLING 15 Maharashtra,” says Mr Mehta. “With bottle recycling start-ups in Hoshiapur in Punjab and Barabanki in Uttar Pradesh in early 2000s, we began to produce synthetic fibres from postconsumer PET bottles. In each of these two locations, bottle bales are recycled into flakes and then into polyester staple fibre (PSF). The capacity is 50 kt and we plan to expand to 80 kt. The plant in Nagothane, Maharashtra, has been producing rPET resin since 2010.” Currently, it is producing 6 kt/a there, but expansion plans in rPET envisage an increase to 35 kt by 2025. This is a logical step, especially against the background of the draft “Food Safety and Standards Packaging (Amendment) Regulations” issued by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) in June 2022. After years of discussion, the draft provides for approval of recycled PET in food contact and is currently being reviewed by The Bureau of Indian Standards. Industry experts expect the finalisation of rPET standards in 2023. India is one of the countries with the highest PET recycling rate. Around 90% collection rate of the aforementioned 1.2 million tonnes of bottles can be recorded in the market. A large part of the bottles is collected by an unorganised sector of waste collectors and taken to collection points and then to recyclers, for which they receive 15-20 rupees per kg of material and often earn their living with it. By means of manual sorting, the bottles are then separated according to colour and foreign materials are removed. Industry is transforming in India as more and more companies and small businesses are coming forward in PET bottle collection business, resulting in reduced share of unorganised sector. “This is also an important part of the much-discussed EPR,” says Mr Rakesh Bali. “Brand owners could hire or at least pay the waste pickers in the long run. EPR also plays a pivotal role for us as a producer. The industry provides direct and indirect employment to over 400,000 people. We are providing technological know-how and guidance to encourage more entrepreneurs to come forward to become part of the industry. www.ril.com (MKMXEP VEXMSREP TVSƤXEFPI ;LEX IPWI# SACMI.COM 300 4VIJSVQ MRWTIGXMSR ERH TVSGIWW IRLERGIQIRX MRGPYHIH DIGITAL (MKMXEP TVSGIWW GSRXVSP VIEGLIW TVIZMSYWP] YRXLMROEFPI PIZIPW STIRMRK YT XLI MRHYWXV] XS -S8 WGIREVMSW RATIONAL 7%'1- 4VIJSVQ :MWMSR 7]WXIQ MRGPYHIH JSV EHZERGIH GSQTVILIRWMZI TVSGIWW GSRXVSP PROFITABLE '330 TSWX GSSPMRK MRWMHI GSSPMRK W]WXIQ WLSVXIRW G]GPI XMQIW ERH PIEHW XS QSVI TVSƤXEFPI TVSHYGXMSR momic
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