We continue to experience a year like no other , with a pandemic that has already claimed over a million lives. The associated economic downfall is projected to make the world economy much smaller this year . The lives claimed, the families uprooted and the healthcare systems left disrupted will continue to add up to an untold human desperation and rising poverty for the first time in decades. 

Providing secure, reliable, and affordable resources for all while avoiding devastating environmental consequences is perhaps the greatest challenge of the 21st century- how have the changed dynamics of what is needed today, impacted our quest for sustainability?  

Plastic has had a very important role to play in this pandemic, protecting those in the frontline. It has become so onmipresent in our daily lives that is is impossible to think of live without plastic. Coronavirus has accentuated a trend to create more, plastic trash. With an increased use of plastic worldover, the need of the hour is to ensure that more and more plastic is brought back to be recycled.  Even before the pandemic, low recycling levels world over made it difficult to achieve the goal of a circular economy. The main reasons being:
1. Linear economy approach- in which raw materials are made to products that are used and thrown away as waste. Products are normally cheap and there are no end of life considerations in place. 
2. Fragmented plastic economy & innovation. There are no global standards for the use of plastic for various industries - which has left the discretion of its use in the hands of the brand owners, for who cost, look, durability and compatibility with their products have historically been the only deciding factors. Innovation if any has been disconnected. 

As a company that is deeply entrenched in each stage of the waste value chain, we are trying to create a new plastic model paradigm. We have been trying to achieve a long term sustainable future for plastic through integration in the entire value chain- from innovation, design to recycle and manufacture. For this we,

• Have partnered with material science company Dow to ensure innovation in plastic recycling and design.
• Work closely with brand owners on the design aspect to ensure products are made taking into consideration end-of life issues.
• Are constantly increasing our collection, segregation, washing, recycling and manufacturing infrastructure to allow us to make more products made from recycled post consumer waste.

This we believe is a transition to a truly circular economy. We have been doing our best to leverage the advantages of plastic without contributing to the world's environmental crisis. We believe that plastic recycling presents an opportunity to address environmental Impact, while at the same time addressing the economic slowdown that the pandemic has thrown our way. Promoting the recycling industry just might be one answer to a dipping local economy, provided corporates and government policymakers are willing to work as partners.