Dalmia Polypro forging a path to circular economy in India

Dalmia Polypro Industries, a market leader in post-consumer plastic recycling since 2006, is forging a path to a truly circular economy in India, driven by deep investment in technology and a commitment to organising the informal waste sector.

The company’s product portfolio includes clear and green Petflex and the advanced food-grade resin Arima SSP, which facilitates true bottle-to-bottle recycling. They also recycle HDPE and various grades of PP, supplying industries that produce packaging, yarn, and sheets. This focus on high-quality output is backed by significant investment in advanced technology, exemplified by their new facility in Nashik, Maharashtra. The Nashik plant, a major expansion from their primary facility in Gujarat, is designed to have a substantial annual recycling capacity of 171,000 metric tonnes, positioning Dalmia Polypro to meet the growing need for recycled content, particularly in food-grade applications.

Shashikant Joshi, DGM, Dalmia Polypro Industries, articulated the company’s long-term vision. He said, "Today, everybody is talking about circular economy and sustainability, which we have been doing for ages." He noted that the recycling economy, though having faced initial challenges in market understanding and setup, is now in an upswing. "Recycling is bound to grow," Joshi stated, citing the increased awareness and the entry of more players and investors into the segment.

Technology and trust: The TraceWaste platform

To manage a complex supply chain spanning Western and Southern India, Dalmia Polypro invested its own capital to develop the proprietary digital platform, TraceWaste. This technology is the backbone of its operation, providing end-to-end traceability for the entire waste stream. Every step, from collection and processing at its material recovery facilities (MRFs) to delivery to the client, is digitally mapped and documented. The system directly addresses the lack of transparency in the scrap market.

Joshi detailed the importance of digital verification. He mentioned that the entire process, right from collection to the MRF, and once recycled, going to the client, the entire process is traceable." He emphasised that waste pickers must take location-verified photos during collection, preventing fraudulent transactions and ensuring that the data required for Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) compliance is accurate and verifiable.

The human cost of circularity

The biggest challenge, according to Joshi, lies in organising the informal workforce and addressing the human emotions embedded in the scrap trade. The company impacts over 10,000 people indirectly and works through its own MRFs in Mumbai in collaboration with the municipal corporation and other entities. Dalmia Polypro pays its MRF workers significantly more than the prevailing market rate, offering approximately INR 650 per person per day compared to the industry average of INR 400 to INR 450.

This financial incentive is coupled with long-term social integration efforts. "Source-segregated dry waste will automatically drive up the income of the waste pickers," Joshi noted, explaining that the company’s efforts are designed to raise the income of the waste pickers without needing a direct subsidy. However, the process of formalisation is slow. "It took us six to seven months to convince the waste pickers that we are associated with," he said, describing the six-month effort to enrol approximately 740 workers into formal schemes like Jan Dhan and eShram cards. He further estimated that if waste segregation were done properly at home, 30% to 35% of dry waste currently going to landfills could be recovered.

Policy gaps and market volatility

Despite the domestic momentum, the recycling industry remains vulnerable to external and policy challenges. Joshi noted that international market uncertainty, specifically the price of virgin plastic, severely impacts the recycling sector. "Recycling is a tough business," he explained, citing that the cost of processing and converting flakes into granules adds approximately INR 5 to INR 8 to the raw material price.

He was also critical of certain EPR implementation gaps, particularly the issue of fraudulent recyclers. "There are more on-paper recyclers than actual recyclers in India," he asserted, highlighting that the CPCB recently had to shut down approximately 10 such units, representing about 800,000 tonnes of paper credits. He urged policymakers to close basic loopholes like having a single HSN code for all plastic waste and to prevent unnecessary cost addition, arguing that for certain industrial feeds, using flakes should be recognised as recycling instead of mandating the more expensive granulation process. Joshi remains hopeful that with continued effort, the industry will mature, estimating it will take another 10 to 15 years for the entire sector to become fully organised and channelised.