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The versatile properties of plastics have made them an essential part of our lives. However, the excessive consumption and mismanagement of the waste generated is leading to severe environmental, social and economic impacts. In order to take appropriate action it is important to know the scale of the plastic waste generation. Material Flow Analysis (MFA) is a Circular Economy (CE) tool that helps to visualise the flow of a material within a system. This study aims to use an MFA to understand the flow of major plastic resins through the Indian economy, with a focus on PE, PP and PVC. Together, these three polymers are estimated to contribute to more than 75% of the polymer consumption in India. The two inputs considered here are the production of resins inside the country and the import of resins from other countries. The outputs considered are the consumption of resins in the form of different products and the export of resins to other countries. Using this data, a material flow was drawn up for the year 2017-18 and represented in the form of a Sankey diagram. In 2017-18, India produced 11,525 KT of polymers and imported 5,087 KT, amounting to more than one-third (37%) of the consumption. India also exported 2,161 KT of polymers in the same year, amounting to 19% of the total polymers produced. PP has the largest market in India (33% of total consumption), followed by PE (30%) and PVC (23%). Among the three, import dependency is highest for PVC (56% of total consumption is from imports). Based on the average service life of the products, the data in the MFA is used to estimate the timeframe when products generated in 2017-18 will enter the waste stream. It was found that nearly 50% of the products made of PE and PP will enter the waste stream within one to three years of manufacture, mostly because of the single-use nature of the products. Most PVC products have longer service lives and a significant portion will enter the waste stream only after a minimum of 30 years.
Keywords: Plastic waste; Material Flow Analysis (MFA); Polyethylene (PE); Polypropylene (PP); Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC)
