Sustainability pdf on plastic industry

2. SUBMITTED BY: GROUP 3
BARSHA PRIYADARSHINI (UM15074)
BIDHU KALYAN DAS (UM15075)
CHANDAN KUMAR (UM15076)
CHINMAYA PRASAD DAKUA (UM15077)
DEBIDUTTA SAMANTARAY (UM15078)
Sustainability practices in the
plastics industry

3. INTRODUCTION:
With increased emphasis on sustainability and greater involvement and interest of stakeholders
in sustainable organizations, firms are migrating towards development of greener products and cleaning
up their supply chains. Even then, there is little or no awareness among manufacturers of toxic materials
like plastics especially in a country like India thus making stringent norms and even stricter regulations,
accountability and enforceability the need of the hour.
TYPES OF PLASTICS AND THEIR LEVEL OF TOXICITY:
Polyethylene Terephthalate - PET (Water bottles, Juice Bottles, PET
Bottles)
High Density Polyethylene - HDPE (Milk/Detergent/Shampoo
containers, Carry bags)
Polyvinyl Chloride - PVC (Cables, Floorings, Pipes)
Low Density Polyethylene - LDPE (Sauce bottles, Carry bags, Films)
Polypropylene - PP (Medicine bottles, Takeaway containers, Hinged
lunch boxes)
Polystyrene - PS (Small tubs, Margarine/Butter containers, Foam
packaging, Tea cups, Ice cream cups)
Others - O (Thermoset plastics, Multilayer and Laminated plastics,
Bakelite, Polycarbonate, Melamine, Nylon in sports drink bottles,
Sunglasses, Large water cooler bottles)

4. PLASTICS
CATEGORIES
TOXICITY RECYCLABLE? RECOMMENDATION
PET Suspected carcinogenic
properties
WIDELY RECYCLED USE WITH CAUTION
HDPE No evidence of toxicity,
migration occurs, into
dry foods as well
WIDELY RECYCLED SAFE CHOICE
PVC Phthalates found
harmful for fetuses and
infants
SOMETIMES RECYCLED AVOID
LDPE No evidence of leaching SOMETIMES RECYCLED SAFE CHOICE
PP Stabilizers used are
biologically active and
tend to leach
NOT COMMONLY RECYCLED SAFE CHOICE
PS Is a mutagen
(carcinogenic,
neurotoxic, cytogenetic-
chromosomal and
lymphatic abnormalities)
NOT COMMONLY RECYCLED AVOID
O No BPA presence usually
marked safe
NOT COMMONLY RECYCLED USE WITH CAUTION
USA STANDARDS FOR MANUFACTURING AND USING:
Laws and Regulations
• Air:
o Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program
o National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP):
 Flexible Polyurethane Foam Fabrication Operation
 Flexible Polyurethane Foam Production
 Flexible Polyurethane Foam Production and Fabrication for Area Sources
 Industrial Cooling Towers
 Reinforced Plastic Composites Production
Water:

5. Effluent Guidelines: Organic Chemicals, Plastics and Synthetic Fibers (OCPSF)
Compliance:
Combustion Portal: Compliance assistance center.
Workforce:
Occupational Safety and Health Administration provides safety standards for plastics facilities
that aim to prevent injury and fatalities in the workplace.
ENVIRONMENTAL STANDARDS (INDIA):
1. Prohibition of usage of carry bags or containers made of recycled plastics below 50
microns.
2. The Bureau of Indian Standards specifies the standards to be maintained for recycling of
plastics and so it should be carried in accordance with the mentioned standards.
3. Manufacturers of recycled plastic carry bags having printing facilities shall code / mark
carry bags and containers as per Bureau of Indian Standard Specification.
4. The minimum thickness of carry bags made of virgin plastics or recycled plastics shall not
be less than 20 microns.
POPULARIZED PRACTICES:
1. Providing a common platform for the entire plastics supply chain to ensure more use of
recycled content, improving the recyclability of plastics already in use.
2. Labelling the products based on the polymer used and thus helping in deciphering the degree
of toxicity and ease of recycling.
3. Taking goals from an aspirational level to operational level so as to bring measurable results
in the field of recycling.
SUSTAINABILITY STALWARTS IN THE PLASTICS INDUSTRY:
1) SC JOHNSON:
SC Johnson is one of the world’s leading makers of household products like Pledge, Mr.
Muscle, Oust, Glade, Duck, Windex, Scrubbing Bubbles, Raid, OFF!, Baygon, All Out, Autan, Saran,
Kiwi, Tana, Bama, Grand Prix and Ziploc, as well as professional products in a variety of categories
like Pest Control, Air Care, Home Cleaning, Home Storage, Shoe Care, Auto Care, Professional
Products.

6. Their mission revolves around sustainability and includes the following-
• Adhering to all local laws and regulations regarding products and how they are made.
• Choosing ingredients using SC Johnson Greenlist process.
• Reducing emissions, waste and the use of fossil fuels, and minimizing landfill impact.
• Make Ziploc packaging bags widely recyclable via curbside recycling programs.
2) JOHNSON AND JOHNSON:
This company is committed not only to manufacture in an environmentally responsible
way, but also educates and helps consumers know the importance of recycling bathroom goods
and empty containers through its online toolkit called Care to Recycle which shows families that
to recycle, where to recycle and how to make recycling fun.

7. 3. MICRO MOLD AND PLASTIKOS:
They continue to make significant strides to become more environmentally conscious
manufacturers. Through their Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle program they have been able to
minimize their consumption of raw materials and have made a direct positive impact on their
plant.
For instance, each year they use approximately 400,000 pounds of plastic raw material,
which is composed of minerals, oil, glass, and other compounds. In an effort to reduce their
consumption of raw material, their engineers have developed a method (proprietary) to
minimize the amount of plastic used in their day-to-day production.
This project prevents the making of several hundreds of thousands of waste which would
ultimately be sent to the local Erie county landfill, it also saves numerous barrels of oil and other
chemical compounds, tens-of-thousands of KW-hr of electricity, tens-of thousands of gallons of
water, and tens-of-thousands of pounds of minerals and glass from being consumed at their
material suppliers along with an even greater amount of greenhouse gases.
Furthermore, Micro Mold and Plastikos invests in several other environmentally conscious
undertakings, such as:
• Using electronic documentation instead of paper.

8. • Recycle regrind material programs.
• Paper, cardboard, plastic and aluminum recycling program
• Metal collection & recycling program
• Installation of three rain gardens to help prevent excessive storm water run-off into streams.
• Installation of electricity saving LED lighting on building exterior and parking lot.
• Sponsorship of community events dedicated towards environmental awareness and
conservation efforts.
4. TUPPERWARE BRANDS:
Tupperware has comprehensive policies and very high standards whereby they protect the
health and safety of their associates, the environment while producing quality sustainable
products.
Their pollution prevention and resource conservation initiatives are strict, state-of-the-art
environmental standards and are in place at all their manufacturing plants worldwide.
Environmental Management Systems (EMS) are utilized as a method of managing processes and
procedures that allows the analysis, control and reduction of the environmental impact of
activities, products and services. They strive to-
• Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle Program
• Reducing our Carbon Footprint
• Environmental Management
• Health and Safety
• Emergency Response

9. TOP 5 PLASTICS MANUFACTURING COMPANIES IN INDIA.
A. Supreme Industries Ltd:
Founded in 1942, Supreme is an acknowledged leader of India’s plastics industry. It handles
volumes of over 3,20,000 tons of polymers annually effectively making it one of the country’s
largest plastics manufacturing company.
Already accredited with ISO 14001, many of their units are demonstrating industry best
practices of pollution control, waste management and energy optimization.
B. Astral Poly Technik Ltd:
Astral Pipes specializes in manufacturing the best quality plumbing & drainage systems for
both residential and commercial applications, CPVC piping systems for industrial applications,
column and pressure piping system for agriculture applications and also conduit pipes for
residential and commercial applications.
No mention of sustainable practices anywhere on the website of the company.
C. Jain Irrigation Systems Ltd
Jain Irrigation Systems Ltd is an integrated player in global food system and leads in
manufacturing of micro irrigation systems, plastic pipes & products, agro processed products,

10. renewable energy solutions, tissue culture plants, financial services and other agricultural inputs
since last several decades.
They are invested in:
• Environment Policy for Jain Plastic Park.
• Energy and GHG Policy.
• Environmental and Social Action Plan & Summary Report - Project Environment and Social
Risk Management.
D. Nilkamal Ltd:
Nilkamal Limited is Asia’s largest plastic processor of molded products based in Mumbai,
Maharashtra, India. It is also world’s largest manufacturer of molded furniture. The furniture
product range comprises plastic furniture, material handling crates and bins, baby table, center
table, dining table, planter, rack, stool, industrial pallets, waste bins, insulated crates, etc. Again,
there was no mention of any sustainable practices followed by the industry.
E. VIP Industries Ltd:
The very first VIP Suitcase was manufactured in the year 1971. Since then, VIP Industries has
sold over 60 million pieces of luggage to people around the world and have subsequently become
the foremost manufacturer of hard and soft luggage in Asia. Even though the company indulges
in some form of CSR activity, there is no mention of sustainability in its agenda.
THE ROAD AHEAD:
ExxonMobil, the oil giant, says it has developed a technology that could massively
reduce emissions and energy used to manufacture plastics. Para-xylene is a chemical building
block for polyester and plastics. This new method uses reverse osmosis which will help in
separating para-xylene from complex hydrocarbon mixtures. In the conventional way already
being used in commercial scale, energy and heat are used to separate these molecules. The
amount of energy used in this process would be close to 20 average-sized power plants. It has
been estimated that if the new reverse osmosis process is used, then the plastics industry’s global
annual carbon dioxide emissions could be reduced by up to 45 million tons along with reducing
the global energy costs used to make plastics by up to $2 billion a year.

11. This December, two proposed rules, one on Risk Evaluation and the other on Prioritization
are on their way. The Risk Evaluation Process rule will cover Environmental Protection Agency’s
(USA) process for determining if a chemical presents an unreasonable risk of injury to health or
the environment. The Prioritization Procedural Rule will cover the process by which EPA identifies
and prioritizes chemicals for review.

12. SOURCES:
https://www.epa.gov/stationary-sources-air-pollution/clean-air-act-standards-and-guidelines-
foam-fiber-plastic-and
http://www.scjohnson.com/en/commitment/focus-on/greener-products/greenlist.aspx
http://caretorecycle.com/tagged/recyclingfacts
http://www.plastikoserie.com/our_commitment/environmentally-conscious
https://www.tupperwarebrands.com/csr/sustainability/environment
http://www.environmentalleader.com/2016/08/22/exxon-gt-technology-could-slash-plastics-
manufacturings-emissions-energy-use/#ixzz4I50Nk1Qy
http://www.top10listedcompaniesinindia.com/top-10-listed-plastics-companies-in-india/
http://www.supreme.co.in/corporate-social-responsibility.php
http://www.jains.com/Company/quality%20policy.htm
http://www.vipindustries.co.in/brands.php