Government’s plan to restrict single-use-plastic from October 2nd is prompting e-commerce companies like Amazon, Flipkart and BigBasket to re-evaluate their packaging for minimising the plastic waste.
The plastic packaging of e-commerce companies makes up to 40% of plastic consumption in India. The government is thinking of ways to make e-commerce companies recycle the waste they generate. And, this will push companies in looking into alternatives for packaging materials.
CK Mishra, Environment Secretary, in a media byte to Economic Times said: “They are the one creating all the waste, so the onus of recycling it has to put onto them as well”
Further, he adds, “It’s all about the reduction of waste, and then, they gradually need to move towards alternative packaging”
Flipkart had recently announced that the company has reduced the use of single-use plastic by 25%. The company has set a target of using 100% recycled plastic by march 2021.
“Creating alternatives for single-use plastic packaging is one of the significant steps that we have taken towards fulfilling our commitment to creating a sustainable ecosystem. Our long-term vision is to eliminate the use of plastic and maximise the use of recycled and renewable materials,” said Kalyan Krishnamurthy, CEO, Flipkart.
Apart from this, companies like Amazon and BigBasket are also trying to reduce the use of single-use plastic. In Bengaluru, BigBasket has stopped using single-use-plastic for packaging.
