India's largest plastic packaging collaboration

India's largest provider of rigid plastics packaging solutions, backed by Advent International, has entered a collaboration with Ganesha Ecosphere Group, India's largest plastic bottle recycler. Together, they will co-develop and supply food and non-food grade packaging products crafted from recycled plastics. The partnership aims to offer comprehensive packaging solutions to brands, aligning with the upcoming Plastic Waste Management (Amendment) Rules, 2022 (PWM Rules). Their goal is to deliver plastic packaging products, incorporating up to 100% recycled plastic content, all while obtaining approvals from regulatory bodies like FSSAI, the US FDA, and the European Food Safety Authority. This initiative not only assists brands in complying with new PWM rules but also supports the Indian government's ambitious target of replacing up to 60% of virgin plastic with recycled plastic by FY29. The partnership is poised to foster a circular economy and accelerate the adoption of 100% recycled plastic bottles. Currently, the use of recycled plastic for packaging is in its nascent stages in India, with no integrated players handling end-to-end operations, from plastic waste collection to certified food-grade packaging product manufacturing. Brands seeking to transition from virgin plastics to recycled plastics in their packaging face challenges in conducting tests and trials with recyclers and manufacturers separately. This collaboration, as a one-stop solution provider, intends to address this challenge by offering pre-tested and optimised packaging products at scale. Manjushree Technopack Limited (MTL), with over 40 years of packaging expertise, serves various industries, including FMCG, F&B, home care, personal care, agrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, and liquor. MTL, India's largest rigid plastics packaging company, operates across 20 plants nationwide, boasting a current manufacturing capacity of over 200,000 MT per annum and an annual turnover of approximately Rs 26 billion. MTL places a strong emphasis on environmental sustainability, as reflected in its above-industry-average ESG rating. Ganesha Ecosphere Group, India's largest post-consumer PET waste recycler, operates with an installed capacity of 150,000 MT per annum across six locations. The company already collaborates with major global and domestic textile brands to provide rPET solutions to the textile industry and is now expanding its reach into the packaging industry with its new brand, Go Rewise, dedicated to promoting a circular economy and delivering high-quality rPET products. Thimmaiah Napanda, MD and CEO of Manjushree Technopack expressed their commitment to implementing the transformation towards a circular economy and reducing the use of virgin plastic in packaging. This collaboration aims to become the first source of end-to-end support for the uninterrupted supply of recycled plastic packaging products, maintaining quality comparable to virgin-grade materials. Sharad Sharma, Managing Director of Ganesha Ecosphere Ltd, emphasised the importance of a circular and sustainable supply chain for packaging materials, underlining the need for collaboration among brands, converters, and recyclers. He highlighted the remarkable achievement of producing high-quality, consumer-safe recycled plastics in collaboration with MTL and advanced recycling technologies, setting a significant milestone in the industry's journey towards rPET adoption at scale.