Corporation to call top 10 plastic waste producers in Thiruvananthapuram

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: It is reliably learnt that the 10 companies, who were identified to be the major contributors to plastic waste in the city, will be invited to the Corporation for a meeting, very soon.

Though the Mayor had said in June that they would immediately contact the companies and look into possibilities of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) linkages, nothing had materialised.

The companies have been chosen based on a brand audit conducted in June by the collective Green Army and the NGO Thanal, with the support of Thiruvananthapuram Corporation.

The audit was conducted by analysing plastic waste from 135 households over a period of three weeks. Milma was the highest contributor accounting for 15.2% plastic waste in the city, followed by PepsiCo (10.3%), Daily Fresh (8.3%), Hindustan Unilever Limited (5.8%), Kellogs’ 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%).
These brands contributed to 75% of the weight of plastic waste produced. A document offering suggestions on how to implement EPR in the Corporation was also submitted.

The companies can either make arrangements to collect the packages they produce, or work with the Corporation to implement EPR. “EPR rules make it mandatory for the companies to take the initiative. Thiruvananthapuram Corporation will facilitate it,” said an official here.

Though the audit was completed in June, action from the Corporation took time. They cite Health Standing Committee Chairperson’s poor health and the floods, as reasons. In a couple of days, the meeting date with the companies will be announced.