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A recent study published in the Nature journal says India contributes to a fifth of the global plastic pollution, and burns roughly 5.8 million tonne (MT) of plastic each year, and releases another 3.5 MT of plastic into the environment (land, air, water) as debris. Overall, India contributes to 9.3 MT of plastic pollution in the world annually.
While recycling has been touted as a green and sustainable solution to counter the plastic waste and resource utilisation, the practice itself could be generating huge quantities of microplastics, another widespread environmental concern. Last year, an international team of scientists sampled waste water from a state-of-the-art recycling plant at an undisclosed location in the UK and found that the microplastics released in the water amounted to 13% of the plastic processed. This facility alone could be releasing up to 75 billion plastic particles in each cubic metre of waste water, the study estimated.
According to the study, recycling may be making matters worse by producing an even more complicated situation, rather than helping in addressing plastics’ role in the triple global crisis—pollution, climate change, and biodiversity loss—as defined by the UN.
“Here what happens is we are unintentionally contributing to pollution while we are trying to solve the plastic issue by recycling,” says Dr Anu Pavithran V, a marine biologist and researcher.
A widespread problem
While recycling is the keyword when it comes to managing plastic pollution, the menace of microplastic is much larger. Too small to be even detected by the naked eye, the tiny plastic particles are formed as a result of the degradation of larger items, and are also manufactured for specific industrial purposes.
Some are as small as a few mm in size, and some are so small that they are visible only under a microscope. And this makes them a threat of gargantuan proportions. Because so omnipresent is plastic on the planet now that these tiny particles have even found their way to places unimaginable—from the bodies of marine organisms to Arctic and Antarctic snow, and from the deepest reaches of seas and oceans to the human bloodstream as well semen.
A recent report by Swiss non-profit EA Earth Action showed that as many as 217 countries will release 3,153,813 tonne of microplastics into the world’s waterways by the end of 2024. Among these, China, India, the United States and Japan will account for 51% of the volume. The report said India will release 391,879 tonne of microplastics and will be the second leading polluter of the water bodies after China (787,069 tonne) in the world.
According to a 2021 study, the microplastics concentration in Ganga, which forms India’s largest river basin, was found to be more than any other major world river. Last year, the Central Pollution Control Board acknowledged the presence of microplastics in India’s water bodies, in a report submitted to the National Green Tribunal.
How they are generated
Microplastics are of two types—primary microplastics, which are manufactured for use in cosmetic products, toothpaste, etc, called microbeads, and secondary microplastics, which are mainly found in the marine environment and are formed from larger plastic products we use in daily life. The latter comprises a greater chunk of microplastics.
They come from a variety of sources, such as larger plastic particles that gradually fragment into smaller ones. Another source is microbeads composed of polyethylene plastic and their frequent addition to skincare and cosmetics. They can easily pass through water filtering systems and find their way into dams, lakes, and oceans.
The majority of microplastics come from manufactured goods that break down over time, such as single-use plastics. The molecular weights of all polymers determine how they will disintegrate. The polymers in these plastics disintegrate during their degradation, weakening the substance and ultimately causing it to shatter into tiny pieces. These tiny plastic particles, which might not even be noticeable to the unaided eye, are still breaking down. When the polymer’s carbon eventually turns into CO2, it is absorbed by marine biomass and becomes part of the microplastics that end up in the ocean.
Standard polymers, such as PP, HDPE, and LDPE, undergo photo-oxidative degradation as a major breakdown mechanism when exposed to UV-B rays from the sun in maritime conditions. Once this deterioration process starts, it can continue without further exposure to UV rays as long as oxygen is present to help with the process. There are other forms of deterioration as well, although they usually proceed more slowly than this UV-induced oxidation. In maritime environments, all biomaterials—including plastics—will eventually biodegrade. However, compared to degradation caused by light, this degradation occurs far more slowly creating the menace of microplastics.
A recent research published in Emerging Contaminants journal led by Riya K Alex, a third-year PhD Scholar at the Cochin University of Science and Technology, analysed 45 samples of personal care products across four categories— face wash, face scrub, shower gel, and body scrub available in Indian market and manufactured in the year 2022. The study used products marketed as “eco-friendly”, “natural”, and “organic” to scrutinise the legitimacy of these claims and found that 23.33% of products contained cellulose microbeads, and their biodegradability is unclear.
Microfibres that shed from synthetic fabrics are also type of microplastic, since polyester, nylon and other polymers are just different types of plastics.
Anjali Taneja, an economist and sustainability expert, points out that in India, 60% of the textiles market is dominated by polyester synthetic fibres. Microbeads are found in at least 45% of personal care products. Taneja considers these two as major components of microplastic pollution in India. The problem, hence, lies in distinguishing and treating them accordingly. Recycling has been considered as a solution but it is itself a factor.
Is recycling compromising the concept of sustainability then? Yes, say experts. But rejecting it completely is not the solution. “Indeed, the issue of microplastics resulting from the recycling process presents a paradox in sustainability efforts. While recycling plastics aims to reduce waste and minimise the environmental impact of new plastic production, the unintended release of microplastics during the recycling process undermines these efforts,” notes PK Joshi, professor, School of Environmental Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU).
Acknowledging that it raises valid concerns about the effectiveness of current sustainability practices, he however says, abandoning plastic recycling is a formidable task. “Instead, it’s critical to innovate and improve recycling technologies, implement stricter standards to reduce microplastic release, and rethink the design of plastics for a more circular and low-impact lifecycle,” he adds.
Taneja points out that as on date there has been no technology to identify whether these microplastics are recyclable or not. Joshi says the answer lies in redefining, refining and evolving the process rather than rejecting it entirely while aligning recycling practices more closely with broader sustainability goals.
An accepted reality?
When this is bound to happen, do we consider that it’s an accepted reality beyond reckoning? Not quite. “While microplastic pollution from recycling is currently a reality, the idea that we must simply ‘accept’ it as an unavoidable consequence is not universal. There are multiple efforts in R&D, and policy formulation to limit single-use plastics and incentivise circular economy along with public awareness and behavioural change,” Joshi weighs in.
It is hoped that in the long term, innovation and regulation can move us closer to a world where microplastics are no longer the persistent threat as they are today. There are solutions.
The most obvious solution is to have better filtration techniques which can minimise microplastic generation. Recycling technology need to be advanced in terms of close-loop systems and even mechanical sorting improvements. Biodegradable plastic is another hope and should be promoted as alternatives to single use plastics. “There are possibilities to shift toward biodegradable plastics and more durable and easier to recycle, which has challenges of production costs and environmental trade-offs, that need to be sorted,” explains Joshi.
Improving the recycling technology is the only way forward and both Joshi and Pavithran also expand on chemical recycling (as compared to mechanical recycling) such as depolymerisation and photocatalysis to reduce microplastic formation.
Pavithran says during the plastic production, using additives to make the material more resistant reduces microplastic formation, adding upcycling (a way to reduce waste and create value added products from discarded materials) of plastics are also other sustainable solutions. “There are different researches going on to improve the recycling methods, so that we could reduce the microplastics formation and thereby plastic pollution,” she says.
Experts say that minimising microplastics in the recycling process requires a combination of technological innovation, improved waste management practices, stricter regulation, and a shift towards sustainable materials and consumption. “While eliminating microplastics entirely may be challenging, these measures can significantly reduce their environmental impact and help reconcile plastic recycling with broader sustainability goals,” says Joshi. Other options could be designing plastics for easy and clean recycling, which may be achieved through a mono material product or a single type of plastic.
At the policy level, Pavithran says restricting the use of certain plastic (single use plastics) types that are prone to breaking down into microplastics and regulating and monitoring recycling facilities that include microplastic filtration standards (advance filtration units) should be enforced and be monitored regularly. Ensuring that the wastewater treatment plants are upgraded with microplastic filtration technologies and setting up local recycling systems which reduces the need for exporting plastic waste are other ways to improve the microplastic menace.
Taneja rather emphasises on clarity in policies and regulations in terms of definitions. She points out that there are no clear distinguishing factors and definitions of microplastics, microbeads, microfibres and even biodegradable plastics and that is creating a confusion among the industries. “Ambiguity in policy and lack of clarity and no policy ban on microbeads, for example, despite numerous countries in the world who have banned microbeads in personal care products are some problems in dealing with microplastics,” she adds.
Taneja says while the government is proactive in managing the plastic waste, the lack of clarity on what these different aspects of microplastics mean poses a problem. For the recycling industry and businesses, she says we need to look at whether there are streamlined policies, how much emphasis has been given to microplastic recycling in India, and whether there are suitable funding available for industries to pitch in their money to look at sustainable solutions. “I don’t think that exists at the moment,” she adds.
Taneja goes on to explain how there are no compliance mechanisms in place, from industry lens, they consequently don’t see it as important as there is no emphasis on microplastics management in India. “Even the consumers are not quite aware and there is no law that mandates product labelling, for instance, which is why the industry also takes it lightly, she comments. The need is for greater sensitisation and introduction of mechanisms for industries to comply with,” she explains.
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