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Enhancing Circular Economy Perspectives - Plastic Waste Management Strategy and Action Plan for Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation
Summary
This paper reviews how circular economy principles can be applied to enhance plastic waste management, examining policy frameworks, industrial practices, and technological innovations that extend the useful life of plastic materials. It evaluates progress toward closed-loop systems and identifies barriers to scaling circular approaches globally. The authors present recommendations for aligning economic incentives with environmental outcomes to accelerate the transition away from linear plastic consumption.
Plastics are an integral part of our daily life. Today, the linear model of “make, use, and dispose” plastic materials posesa serious threat to the public health and environment. Though there are a large number of interventions made acrossthe country, the impact is not yet visible. It is realised that challenges with plastic waste are so prevalent that no singleapproach can address the problem successfully. Therefore, a cohesive strategy for the holistic management of plasticwaste city wise/town wise is essential as per local conditions and life style of people. Given the context, this project on ‘Enhancing Circular Economy - Plastic Waste Management Strategy and ActionPlan for Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC)’ supported by the IGES Centre Collaborating with UNEPon Environmental Technologies (CCET), the United Nations Environment Programme - International EnvironmentalTechnology Centre (UNEP-IETC), Japan and ICLEI Local Governments for Sustainability, South Asia (ICLEI South Asia)has come at a very opportune time. This strategy document will act as a guiding document for GHMC to ensure holisticmanagement of plastic waste in the city of Hyderabad. The strategy is designed with a holistic approach, to improvethe existing plastic waste management system, which is environmentally sustainable, socially inclusive and contributesto an improved quality of life. Five strategies, with a multi-pronged approach are identified, enabling the adoptionof circular economy either through recycling, reducing and reusing plastics for new products, influencing consumerbehaviour and developing better waste management practices at the community level. Uptake and adoption of thesestrategies will help to manage plastic-use and waste generation more efficiently while retaining its value as a material. These recommendations, which were arrived based on the analysis of good practices and discussions with all majorstakeholders, will give solutions to reduce the inflow of plastic waste by users and this reduction in the quantities ofplastic waste inflow will benefit in saving the costs in collection, sorting, processing, recycling and landfill siting by thecity administration.