Brand audit: Thiruvananthapuram Corporation to contact Milma and others for EPR
Thiruvananthapuram: Thiruvananthapuram Corporation will approach 20 brands producing the bulk of plastic waste in the city, according to a brand audit by its green army and Thanal, the NGO, to stop the menace. Mayor V. K. Prasanth told DC, “we will directly contact the brands to see possibilities of EPR (extended producer responsibility) linkages, just the way it had taken the initiative during the India-New Zealand T20 match.” The EPR was part of an international brand audit put together by Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA) in 250 sites in 18 Indian states.
According to the audit, Milma, accounting for 15.2% plastic waste produced over a period of three weeks in from 135 households, was the biggest of them.
Other major waste producers are PepsiCo (10.3%), Daily Fresh (8.3%), Hindustan Unilever Limited (5.8%), Kelloggs India (5.5%), Reckitt Benckiser (5%), Karnataka Coop Milk Producers (3.5%), Colgate Palmolive (3.4%), Baba Industries (2%), ITC (1.8%), Ajmi Flour Mills (1.7%), Nestle (1.7%), Coca-cola (1.5%), Marico (1.4%), Cantu (1.3%), SupplyCo (1.3%), Rajah Company (1.3%), Jyothy Laboratories (1.1%), Parle Biscuit Pvt Ltd (1.1%) and Modern Food (1%).
They account for 75% of the waste produced in the city.
A document offering a possible plan of action to realise EPR was also submitted to the Corporation. Thanal executive board member Jayakumar C. said, “A major dairy brand in Delhi has set up milk dispensing machines. We can check if Milma can take up a similar initiative, where people can bring their bottles to fill. We need to look at such possibilities.” PepsiCo accounted for 24.1% hard plastic waste produced. Among health and sanitation brands, Hindustan Unilever Limited (20.1%), Reckitt Benckiser (19%) and Colgate Palmolive (13.1%) lead.
Among Food and Snack brands, Kellogg’s India (6.7%), Britannia (6.5%), Modern Food (6.5%), Elite Food (5.4%), ITC (5%) and Supreme Bakers (3%) account for most waste. Among brands offering provisions, Kellogg’s India (23.&%), Ajmi Flour Mills (9.2%) and SupplyCo (6.8%) produce most waste. The audit in other cities evaluated waste that makes it to the dump sites and public places. Analysing waste composition in 15 cities which include Thiruvananthapuram, Delhi, Pune, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Gangtok and Bengaluru, the auditors conclude that only 15% account for unbranded waste.
