Industry should make sustainable plastics for infrastructure: Suresh Prabhu

Effective use of plastics in railway can alter the economies of scale resulting in energy efficiency

Last Updated : Mar 01 2017 | 3:35 PM IST

As part of an effort to grow while preserving the fragile environment, industry should try and make sustainable plastics for developing infrastructure, said Suresh Prabhu, Minister for Railways, at a ‘Conference on plastic processing’, organised by FICCI last week. He underlined the need for developing sustainable infrastructure and creating opportunities for moving to the next level of a sustainable paradigm.

Despite having a good growth potential, the plastic processing industry faces many challenges in terms of environmental myths, lack of advanced technology, limited infrastructure and high volatility in feedstock prices. To overcome these challenges, according to Charu Kapoor, principal - chemicals, Tata Strategic Management Group, significant efforts will have to be made by all the stakeholders to realise the real potential of this industry.

Experts believe that plastics will play a major role in three areas - energy efficiency, protection & safety and resource efficiency. “With a burgeoning population, efficient use of plastics can help in raising standards of living. However, there was a perception that plastics and chemicals were bad products. This needed to be corrected for encouraging the widespread use of plastics,” commented Mukesh Malhotra, Co-Chairman, FICCI chemical committee & country manager, Solvay Specilaities.

According to Achal Thakkar, president, Organization of Plastics Processors of India (OPPI) & managing director, Tipco Industries Ltd, the benefits of plastics in infrastructure were well-known but there were three sectors - transportation, agriculture and clean air, water & energy - where plastics could play a fundamentally significant role. For instance, effective use of plastics in railways can considerably alter the economies of scale resulting in energy efficiency.

However, to drive innovation in this sector, industry-academia partnership is the key. “An open innovative paradigm is needed where industry can engage with research channels and academia. The academia’s novel ideas can be scaled up by the industry to develop sustainable products,” opined Prof Anil Wali, managing director, Foundation for Innovation and Technology Transfer, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi.

Speaking on the use of PVCs (polyvinyl chloride), Ravi Ahuja, GM - marketing, Chemplast Sanmar Ltd, said, “The government is focusing on infrastructure development and smart cities which would boost the demand for PVC. However, to meet the present demand, PVC is being imported and with increased demand in the years to come, it was essential to augment the domestic supply.”

S B Dangayach, managing director, Sintex Industries Ltd, said that as plastics were non-biodegradable, they become a choice for sustainable growth. But there was a need to carry out innovation in this sector, promote value-based marketing and go for solution-centric approach. Greater use of plastics in the construction of road, railway coaches and infrastructure and scaling up of existing work could lead to sustainable development.

As economic growth gathers momentum, the application of plastics is expected to increase manifold in future. Therefore, according to Dr Annapurna Vancheswaran, senior director - sustainable development outreach, The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), there is a need for a behavioural change in people towards plastics and the industry needs to look for ways to use plastics sustainably as we move into the plastic-age.