India’s plastic recycling gamers are dealing with a serious difficulty of under-utilisation of capability regardless of the federal government’s push for obligatory usage of recycled material in plastic product packaging, a market body stated on Tuesday.
The recycled PET (polyethylene terephthalate) or r-PET market, which has actually set up almost 4.39 lakh tonnes of capability with a financial investment of around 10,000 crore, is experiencing 20-25 percent of its capabilities lying idle due to weak need from plastic product packaging users and brand names, stated Goutham Jain, Director General, APR (Association of PET Recyclers) Bharat.
He declared that the brand names are not completely adhering to mandated recycled material standards.
“The government’s nudge, coupled with the mandate in place, should have translated into a healthy demand for r-PET. However, we have not seen demand picking up as plastic packaging users/brands have not been adhering to the mandate,” Jain stated.
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), in its newest standards released in March, mandated making use of 40 percent recycled material in food-grade PET product packaging in 2026-27, beginning April 1.
In addition, they are likewise anticipated to continue unfinished targets for 30 percent of the necessary usage of recycled material of FY25-26 for as much as 3 successive years, with a minimum of one-third of the carry-forward target to be accomplished every year.
R-PET will likewise assist minimize reliance on imports, he stated.
The federal government’s current focus is on lowering import reliance on petrochemical items and promoting indigenisation of more than 200 import-dependent products to save forex reserves.
Jain stated r-PET provides a sustainable and commercially practical domestic option to virgin petrochemical derivatives, assisting lower import reliance and enhance supply chain strength.
“Virgin PET availability and prices are widely affected by external shocks. A strong domestic r-PET ecosystem gives India a more stable local source of raw material,” he stated, including that every tonne of recycled PET utilized saves nonrenewable fuel sources, reduces carbon emissions and enhances product packaging security.
Turning down issues over the insufficient supply of food-grade r-PET, APR Bharat stated India has actually adequate authorized capability to fulfill the regulative requirements.
Released on May 27, 2026
