Flipkart to collect plastic packaging back from customers, starts pilot in 7 cities

Walmart-owned Flipkart on Thursday said it will now collect plastic packaging back from consumers in seven cities including Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru and Dehradun, as part of its sustainability efforts.

The pilot project aims at ensuring existing plastic packaging in the system is recycled and reused, Flipkart said in a statement.

Under the programme, Flipkart will send out an intimation to consumers asking them to voluntarily hand over plastic packaging to Flipkart delivery staff for its proper disposal, at the time of product delivery, it added.

The collected packets will then be sent to registered vendors to ensure they are disposed of responsibly to avoid ending up in landfills.

The company said its delivery staff has been provided proper training in explaining the various facets of this initiative to consumers to ensure high participation.

The pilot project has been kicked off at select hubs across Mumbai, Bengaluru, Dehradun, Delhi, Kolkata, Pune and Ahmedabad.

Flipkart, under its sustainability agenda, has reduced the use of single-use plastic by 33 per cent and aims to move towards 100 per cent recycled plastic consumption in its supply chain by March 2021.

The e-commerce giant has also filed for EPR (extended producer responsibility) and is targeting a 30 per cent collection back in first year to begin with. Under EPR, companies are given a significant responsibility for treatment or disposal of post-consumer products.

"The recently initiated pilot programme ensures that our biggest stakeholder - consumers, is one of the key enablers of this initiative and will help drive awareness... We believe a collective approach of all stakeholders would help us in achieving the dream of a Swachh and Samridha Bharat, and the country's vision to phase out single-use plastic," Flipkart Group Chief Corporate Affairs Officer Rajneesh Kumar said.