Aafrin Kidwai 
Picture credit: by Hans Braxmeier from Pixabay
A five-year analysis of plastic pollution by the organization ‘Break Free from Plastic’ has found that food packaging, household products, and other packaging material accounted for the most plastic waste generated in India.
The 2022 Brand Audit analysis by ‘Break Free From Plastic’ looked into pollution data from around the world in the past five years.
In India, it was found that PepsiCo (19093 pieces) CG Foods India Pvt Ltd (8420 pieces), and Perfitti Van Melle (7813 pieces) were the top three plastic polluters in India in 2022.
In 2021, the Karnataka Milk Federation ( KMF) was the biggest plastic polluter in India, while it was Tamil Nadu Co-operative Milk Producers’ Federation Ltd in 2020.
SS food products and Perfitti Van melle were responsible for the most plastic pollution in India in 2019 and 2018 respectively.
PET (20376 pieces) HDPE (3000 pieces) and PVC (169 pieces) were the most common plastic waste types in India this year.
The report said that the data from India was collected by 24 organizations that conducted 98 events in 34 cities to document more than 201,543 plastic items.
The report has recommended that top polluting companies must reveal their total global plastic footprints, and reduce them by ending their reliance on single-use packaging, and redesigning their products and delivery systems for refill and reuse.
