The Backbone of India’s Plastic Recycling
- Over 70% of plastic recycled in India is collected and processed by informal workers — ragpickers, sorters, grassroots recyclers.
- These workers operate without protective gear, legal recognition, or social security, facing toxic exposure and deep vulnerability.
- Despite their critical role, they remain excluded from policy frameworks and municipal contracts.
Relevance : GS 3(Environment and Ecology)
Steps Toward Formal Integration
- National Action for Mechanised Sanitation Ecosystem (NAMASTE) Scheme (2024):
- Seeks to integrate waste-pickers and sanitation workers into formal systems.
- Offers health insurance (Ayushman Bharat), safety equipment, and access to social security schemes.
- As of May 2025, over 80,000 workers profiled under the scheme by the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment.
- Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016 (Amended 2022):
- Enforces Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) — obligates manufacturers to manage and recover plastic waste.
- Pushes for inclusive models that recognize the role of informal workers in collection and segregation.
Challenges Persist
- Implementation gaps remain in integrating informal workers into city-level contracts and supply chains.
- Lack of identity documents and low digital literacy prevent full access to formal entitlements.
- Many workers continue to operate under unsafe, exploitative conditions, without union protection or labour rights.
Global Industry Tactics: Parallels with Tobacco
- Plastic industry, like tobacco, shifts blame to consumers while downplaying systemic harms.
- Promoted recycling from the 1980s despite knowing it’s economically impractical at scale.
- Funded misleading campaigns to divert scrutiny from corporate responsibility.
- Greenwashing through fake labels (“biodegradable,” “compostable”) misleads consumers and weakens regulation.
- Exploits weaker regulations in Global South as Global North tightens plastic laws.
Vulnerability of the Global South
- Plastic consumption in Asia projected to triple by 2060, compared to just 15% growth in Europe (OECD, 2022).
- Low- and middle-income countries like India face the double burden of rising plastic imports and poor waste infrastructure.
- Informal sector workers bear the brunt of this unsustainable growth without adequate safeguards.
The Way Forward
- Recognize and register waste pickers under urban local bodies and waste management policies.
- Promote worker-owned cooperatives and micro-enterprises in formal waste contracts.
- Strengthen social protection, workplace safety, and income security.
- Hold producers accountable through strict enforcement of EPR norms and transparent plastic reporting.