MATERIALS / RECYCLING PETplanet Insider Vol. 26 No. 03/25 www.petpla.net 18 A circular economy through digitalisation, inclusion and fair wages App-based recycling model from India by Kay Barton In many parts of the world the waste sector is currently badly organised yet it plays a vital role in feeding valuable raw materials into the recycling stream. This is particularly the case where the political will is insufficient and there is a lack of official infrastructure, or where the volume of waste is increasing thanks to economic growth and its associated consumption. The waste sector is thus essential, contributing not only to recycling, but also to the livelihoods of millions of people worldwide. A full 58% of global plastics recycling depends on this informal sector, an estimated 15 million people. Surely there should be ways of connecting these people and their indispensable and admirable work more effectively with the waste management industry to establish a culture of transparency, fairness and safety. This is exactly what Plastics For Change (PFC) has done in India, creating the world’s first certified fair-trade recycled plastic as early as 2019. We took a look behind the scenes in an interview with CEO Andrew Almack. “Plastics For Change was founded in 2015 with the mission of using plastic waste as a resource to create better living conditions for the poorest. The original concept was to create a fair, ethical supply chain for plastic waste, enabling transparency and fair wages for workers in the informal recycling sector who are at the bottom of the recycling chain. By bridging the gap between manufacturers, brands and waste collectors, we wanted to create a sustainable and traceable system for recycled plastics,” Andrew Almack told us in our interview. The CEO has extensive experience in sustainability, marketing and environmental policy. He has worked with underserved communities, promoted fair trade and advocates for recycling infrastructure, local quality of life and political support for circular economies. “We want to improve working conditions in the sector, contribute to an improved quality of recycled plastic and support interested brands in sourcing ethically recycled materials. We also want to promote consumer interest and raise awareness of sustainability in the recycling industry.” Both brand owners and material buyers can participate in the scheme to source high quality recycled plastics and achieve their sustainability goals, “often at competitive prices”, we were told. Recycling companies can then purchase the waste and process it into recycled flakes or pellets - using the PFC app as a central component. It not only connects waste collectors with collection centres, but also enables transparent pricing and ensures that waste collectors receive fair compensation for their work and collected plastic waste. Furthermore the app features the possibility of monitoring transactions and payments are possible and simplified, according to Mr Almack. The collected waste and quantities would also be recorded for traceability. A real-time impact tracker helps brands measure the social impact and carbon offsets achieved through their partnership with PFC. Due to demand and recyclability, the company mainly focuses on high-quality plastics such as PET and HDPE. However, the system can also include LDPE, PP and multilayer packaging. The proportion of PET bottle waste is two-thirds overall. Currently around 80 large collection centres and over 20 recycling companies in India take part and PFC is expanding and developing its system in the Philippines. “We are also working on the recovery and processing of plastic resources from landfill and oceans to be recycled into new products,” said Andrew Almack (middle) at a participating collection centre with staff
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