Dabur becomes first Indian ‘Plastic Waste Positive’ FMCG Company

India's largest Science-based Ayurveda major, Dabur India, has become a 'Plastic Waste Positive company' in India, having collected, processed, and recycled 35,000 MT of post-consumer plastic waste from all over India in the 2022-23 financial year. The announcement of this major achievement was made on the occasion of World Environment Day.

Dabur has become the first Indian consumer goods company to achieve this landmark. Dabur India head-Operations Rahul Awasthi said, "Today, Dabur collects, processes, and recycles more plastic waste that Dabur sells in its product packaging in a year, thereby becoming a 'Plastic Waste Positive' enterprise."

"It is a matter of great pride for the entire Dabur family, who have worked towards collecting plastic waste from our cities, towns, and villages across the country and preventing the waste from reaching our landfills and oceans. This includes all types of plastic waste, from PET and HDPE bottles, PP caps and labels to multi-layered plastics and beverage cartons. We are also committed to promoting circularity in the value chain to reduce its carbon footprint and achieve Net Zero in the entire value chain by 2045," Awasthi said.

Dabur has also been running community-level projects to build awareness about waste segregation at source and involving the community in its plastic waste management programs. Awasthi added, "My 10 Kg Plastic is our flagship community-led initiative, which is currently operational in Delhi-NCR with more than 150 housing societies associated with this project. We intend to progressively roll it out in other states and cities too. We have collected 41,329 Kg of plastic waste from households in Delhi-NCR alone under the My 10 Kg Plastic project in 2022-23 alone. We also run a 'Save The Environment' campaign in several states to promote the use of cotton carry bags, besides several capacity building programs for waste collectors across the country."

Dabur set itself the target of collecting, processing and recycling 35,000 MT of post-consumer plastic waste from across India in 2022-23. Awasthi said, "We work with government-registered recycling partners across the country and have taken progressive actions to reduce plastic waste in cities, towns, and villages while raising awareness about plastic waste management within the community. The collected plastic waste is being sent to different Recyclers, Waste-to-Energy Plants and Cement Kilns."

Dabur's Plastic Waste Management initiative was rolled out in 2017-18 as part of the Plastic Waste Management (PWM) Rule 2016, 2018 (amended). Under this initiative, Dabur has, to date, collected over 89,000 MT of plastic waste (Recyclable and Non-Recyclable) direct from the end-users with the help of local ragpickers in 150 cities across India. Dabur has also put in place a robust audit mechanism to ensure complete transparency and compliance with the state and central regulations and guidelines on Plastic Waste Management.

Dabur has been a registered brand owner with Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) since November 2018 and with all State Pollution Control Boards across the country, and is committed to collecting different types of plastic waste from across the country. "We take our impact on the natural resources in the communities where we operate seriously and have put in place measures to not merely comply with regulations but to responsibly take care of our country and the Planet, preserve its beauty and resources for future generations. Every action at Dabur is a step towards a sustainable future," Awasthi added.