Flipkart and Air India become the first in their sectors to begin the fight against plastic

• The e-commerce player said that by August 2019, it has achieved a 25% reduction in single-use plastic.
• The company plans to move to 100% recycled plastic consumption in its own supply chain by March 2021.
• Today, Air India too had banned single-use plastic

As India moves to reduce its dependence on plastics, public and private corporations alike are joining in.

Retail giant Flipkart said that it reduced single use plastics by 25% until August 2019, with multiple initiatives across its packaging value chain.

State-owned Air India too announced that it will ban plastic products on its flights from October 2. This will include plastic bags, cups, plates, straws and more. They will be replaced by paper products.

Creating alternatives for single-use plastic packaging: Flipkart

Flipkart has a long term plan to use 100% recycled plastics in its own supply chain by March 2021. It’s planning to also use recycled paper bags for packaging.

“Creating alternatives for single-use plastic packaging is one of the significant steps we have taken towards fulfilling our commitment to create a sustainable ecosystem. Our long-term vision is to eliminate the use of plastic and maximise the use of recycled and renewable materials,” said Kalyan Krishnamurthy, Group CEO, Flipkart.

Indian companies have been cognizant of Indian government’s move to reduce plastic consumption and achieve recycling. States like Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh and Telangana have banned single-use plastics. Uttar Pradesh and Kanataka too banned products which quality as single-use plastics without using the term.

Plastic bottles will be banished: Anand Mahindra

Anand Mahindra too promised that ‘plastic bottles will be banished’ from his company. The chairman of the automobile giant which also makes electric cars, spoke at the World Economic Forum about the need of business leaders coming together for the cause.

“The business community too recognises that this is not a problem they are solving alone or something you check on your CSR (corporate social responsibility) box. This is the biggest business opportunity for the next few decades,” Mahindra said.

Meanwhile, another IT giant Wipro and its founder Azim Premji too stressed on the importance of recycling. “This year, we have significantly scaled up the use of renewable energy for our operations, which now contributes 40% of our total consumption. Recycled water now contributes to 42% of our total water usage” Premji said at his annual general meeting.