ResPack day two: Urgency for circularity and stakeholder action

The second day of the ResPack International Conference 2025 at The Lalit in Mumbai saw influential voices from industry, academia, and policy converge to discuss innovative approaches to sustainable packaging, next-generation polymers, and responsible recycling.

The day began with a keynote by Padma Shri awardee Dr GD Yadav, emeritus professor of eminence and advisor at the Foundation for Innovative Packaging and Sustainability (FIPS). With session chair RR Rashmi, IAS (retired), distinguished fellow at the Energy and Resources Institute and mentor at FIPS, Dr Yadav set the tone for the day with a strong call for systemic incentives in recycling.

“Free meal means waste. However, the solution is not to ban plastics but to encourage recycling. A ban will only lead to clandestine production. Circular economy will work provided there are practical incentives,” said Dr Yadav. He described “recycle engineering” as the “fifth R” of recycling and proposed concrete ideas such as, “A refundable deposit on each article of plastic, INR 20 can be charged, segregation source saves 80% of the cost.”

He also suggested that plastic waste be turned into “circular feedstock, an alternative to oil and gas,” and spoke about “hydrogenation of plastic waste.” Notably, he was the only Indian signatory to the Stockholm Declaration on Chemistry for the Future.

In the plenary session on new-generation polymeric materials chaired by Dr Vijay Habbu of Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai, the audience was taken through the history of polymer breakthroughs. Dr Habbu paid tribute to Hermann Staudinger and highlighted materials like Bakelite (1907), PVC (1835), and polyethene (1933), describing many as accidental inventions.

Vineet Gupta, head of technical marketing at HPCL-Mittal Energy, spoke next: “India only has 5% of the share in global PE capacity in the global market. Last year, 7.2-million tonnes were used domestically. PE growth is 1.2–1.5% of GDP growth.”

On polyethylene’s technical evolution, Gupta added, “PE machine direction-oriented films offer higher stiffness, higher tensile machine direction, better clarity and gloss, better barrier, easy downgauging, and easy recyclability.”

He emphasised that “we are seeing a rebirth of PE,” and remarked, “We are all talking about different kinds of recycling methods (chemical, mechanical, or molecular). All of these kinds of recycling are important. We cannot depend on just one. These methods have to coexist.”

Highlighting HPCL-Mittal Energy’s sustainability drive, Gupta said, “Sustainability initiatives at HPCL-Mittal Energy include Ecosure, which is focussed on mechanical recycling; and Cyclosure, which is focussed on chemical recycling.”

Sumit Basu, chief general manager (polymer) at the Indian Oil Corporation, took the stage to stress the growing demand: “Packaging is the fifth largest sector of the Indian economy, valued at USD eight-billion with a CAGR of 26%. We expect a 7x rise in eCommerce business in the next decade.”

Basu noted, “More than 430-million tonnes of plastic is produced every year, two-thirds is cast aside as waste after just one use. If this continues, plastic waste will triple by 2060.” He lauded an agro-chemical giant, saying, “Balrampur Chini Mills announced its INR 2,850-crore in India's first plant to produce green polymers using sugarcane as raw material.”

“The world is producing 2.47-million tonnes of biopolymers right now. This is expected to reach 5.7-million tonnes by 2029,” Basu stated. On materials innovation, he said, “PE furanoate is promising owing to its higher glass transition temperature, modulus and melting point when compared to PET.” He highlighted Indian Oil Corporation’s innovations, the high barrier HDPE type IV LPG composite cylinder, the 30 MFI high-melt ultra high-clarity RCP, and the Propel 2300 MX.

“Cycloplast is the Indian Oil Corporation’s brand of polymer recyclates with three grades: rHDPE GPBM Black, rPP Homo IM White, and rPP Homo IM Black,” he said, adding that a “dedicated plant for this will be in motion in approximately a year and a half.”

Discussing the Unbottled initiative, Basu said it “recycles discarded PET bottles and transforms them into fabric.” It was this initiative that gifted Prime Minister Narendra Modi with a recycled PET jacket.

Automation was a key theme in a presentation by Divyanshu Katiyar of Windmoeller & Hoelscher India. “Turbostart reduces the number of manual adjustments needed from over 500 to just 7, all manageable on one screen.” He also spoke of Easy2Change, and said that Ruby helps optimise packaging production. It allows for real-time data collection, error detection, and parameter adjustments.

Katiyar added, “Our machines are already running up to 80% reprocessed material. Critical applications like milk and hygiene are using post-industrial recycling in some way.”

In a focus session on bio-polymers chaired by Mayur Mandhane of TotalEnergies, Dr Sunder Balakrishnan of NaturTec warned of misleading claims: “Partial biodegradability of products creates more challenges.” He advocated compostables, noting, “They help in zero waste initiatives.”

Stefan Barot of Balrampur Chini Mills stated, “A few months ago, we announced our investment in India's first polylactic acid (PLA) manufacturing facility. PLA is a great solution because we can go from biomass waste to compostable polymers.” He explained, “The polymer can be processed using the same conventional machinery. Neat PLA compounds can be processed for cold and hot applications.”

“The future scope of applications in India includes food packaging, BOP LA, and medical applications,” added Barot. Representing the PLA platform, Dr Christopher Hess of Uhde-Inventa Fischer and Dr Ashvini Monish Shete of Praj Industries said, “PLA offers a compelling solution as it has demonstrated commercial scale globally,” adding, “We are offering the entire solution, not just technology.”

“Our technology ensures the maximum conversion of lactic acid to PLA and its commercially proven. PLA is a good polymer for flexible and rigid packaging or for weaving fibres and several other consumer goods,” said Hess and Shete.

The recycling session, chaired by Hemant Sharma of Reliance Industries featured Saurabh Goenka of the Pashupati Group. “It's no longer just about doing the right thing. It is also about regulatory survival. Plastic recycling is the need of the hour,” he said.

Goenka shared, “Recycling is an evolution, not a revolution,” and highlighted the firm’s products: rPET flakes (natural, brown, and green), and rPET food grade granules using the EREMA, a company that develops and manufactures plastics recycling machines and system components.

Lucro Plastecycle’s Ujjwal Desai showcased their recent rollout with Hindustan Unilever. He also talked about rLDPE flexible packaging for non-food applications, which uses post-consumer recyclate (PCR) of 16–24%, and said that trials are ongoing for the use of PCR at 50% lamination-wise.

Bharat Mehta, vice president for PET at Reliance Industries, said, “We should understand the population before we understand the industry,” arguing that plastics preserve global resources. Referring to PACE studies, he addressed concerns: “Do PET bottles or resin contain BPA, phthalates, or heavy metals?”

On evolving guidelines, Mehta spoke about the new logo to distinguish rPET for food contact, per guidelines issued by the FSSAI on 23 May. He also recommended film-hinge caps for PET bottles and label-free bottles as recyclable solutions that are already being implemented in countries like Japan and South Korea.

Jignesh Shah of Deluxe Recycling spoke about their facilities in Gujarat and Karnataka, saying, “Deluxe Recycling currently has an annual processing capacity of 20,200-metric tonnes per annum.”

Innovation in ancillary packaging was discussed in sessions chaired by Kanwal Tikoo of Weener Empire Plastics. Kunal Sharma presented on continuous improvement culture, while Bobst India’s Yogesh Koshti introduced FibreCycle and PrimeCycle.

Syed Rameez of HB Fuller said, “Many FMCGs have committed to elevating their packaging,” and shared details about EarthicZero, a biodegradable hot melt adhesive. Aptar Pharma’s Pankaj Sonawane spoke on targeted drug delivery systems across multiple treatment formats.

In a session chaired by Tushar Bhotica of the Shree Arun Packaging Company (SAPCO), Dr Shilpa Anchawale of Fujifilm Sericol India stated, “All CSR activities, all the aspects of our supply chain, are looked at from the perspective of sustainability,” and added, “Innovation is a driving force for the evolution of the printing industry. Previous systems serve as a base. Fujifilm’s jet press is the latest innovation.”

TSi Power’s Ujjwal Singh introduced static power conditioning, while Umesh Kagade of HP Indigo remarked, “Digital by nature is sustainable. A brand will buy what its consumers ask for. The beauty of digital is that multiple SKUs can be printed seamlessly without changing the plates.”

L’Oreal’s Manish Patil chaired a plenary on multilayered tube packaging. Shailesh Tyagi of Deloitte said, “USD 80–120-billion of packaging material value is lost each year,” and observed, “EPR is a major driver of circular packaging, encouraging producers to manage end-of-life waste — an approach adopted in about 32% of countries worldwide.”

Yannick Schneider of Polytype stated, “There is no better solution than limiting the ink we bring to the substrate,” and introduced “prime offset” as an alternative. “Dry offset leads to great prints. Prime offset involves integrated pre-treatment and advanced finishing for superior adhesion,” he said.

EPL’s Hariharan S spoke of their Platina and Etain tube ranges: “Etain laminated tubes from EPL are HDPE PCR resins with a letter of authorisation from the United States Food and Drug Administration.” He added, “EPL has incorporated Etain up to 60% in sleeves, up to 70% in shoulders, and up to 50% in caps,” and noted, “70% of the carbon footprint in production comes from resin usage.”

“By the end of this year, 40% of the tubes we manufacture will be recyclable,” he concluded.

A final panel discussion on extended producer responsibility was moderated by professor Sapan Kumar Ray of the KJ Somaiya Institute of Management. “Policy investments make producers responsible, which makes this discussion vital,” he said.

Navninder Singh of Asian Paints observed, “Recycling has become a science. It is no longer a regular process, we have to understand material properties.” Amit Kale of Reliance Retail added, “Instead of EPR, I'll call it extended consumer responsibility (ECR). We get a lot of contaminated material that makes the recycling process difficult. We need to ensure consumers are educated.”

Leeladhar Poojary of Colgate-Palmolive said, “Around the world, eco-modulation is being considered in terms of fee structure. The easier it is to recycle, the lower the cost. We have a good collection mechanism in India, but a long way to go in terms of quality.”

Kamlesh Kholiya of Tetra Pak stated, “I will talk about recyclability instead of circularity and sustainability. It is important to design for recyclability. Simplifying structures supports that idea because that makes it easier to collect and recycle waste.”

Finally, Krunal Goda of Anant Tattva said, “Brands need to engage and lead the race,” and insisted, “Brands need to engage in bureaucratic, political, and legislative conversations about recycling in various languages to lead to meaningful change.”