To reduce the 40% of plastic waste that ends up in landfills and oceans, packaged water company Bisleri International has launched the “Bottles for Change” initiative. This new program, spearheaded by the company’s sustainability division, aims to promote a circular economy by connecting citizens, collectors, and recyclers through a mobile app.
A Digital Solution for a Mounting Problem
According to Bisleri, India consumes 13 million tonnes of plastic annually, with only 60% of it being recycled. The remaining waste, often consisting of non-recyclable items like wrappers and multi-layer packets, poses a significant threat to the environment. The “Bottles for Change” app is designed to address this gap by educating citizens on source segregation and facilitating the collection of used plastic. The program has already collected and recycled over 19,300 tonnes of plastic, according to K. Ganesh, a director at Bisleri.
Giving Plastic a Second Life
The initiative ensures that every piece of plastic is repurposed. Used PET bottles are channeled to recycling facilities where they are reborn as new products, including new bottles (rPET) and fiber yarn for clothing. Multilayer plastics are repurposed into durable plastic sheets. In an innovative move, Bisleri has also created benches from recycled bottle caps, using 60 kg of caps per bench. This process demonstrates that all parts of the bottle, including the caps, can be given a second life.
The program’s efforts align with India’s Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) regulations, which mandate that producers and brand owners manage the post-consumer waste of their products to reduce waste and ensure environmentally responsible disposal.