India: ‘Complete ban on import of plastic scrap’

The Indian Ministry of Environment has imposed a total ban on the import of solid plastic waste, the Times of India reports on its website. 

‘Solid plastic waste has been prohibited from import into the country including in Special Economic Zones and by Export Oriented Units,’ the report said, quoting a ministry press release issued on 1 March.

The release does not specify when the ban will come into force but, in the Times article, a ministry official qualifies the change in regulation as being ‘immediate’.

Capacity gap

Since China imposed a 100% ban on the import of plastic scrap in 2018, materials have been shipped to other markets including India. However, India lacks the recycling capacity to process these growing volumes, it is said.

According to a recent study, 40% of the total of the 26 000 tonnes of plastic waste thought to be generated every day in India is not collected.