According to a report by the investment banking firm Avendus Capital, polymers, electronics, and batteries can represent a $20 billion opportunity for India by 2030.
According to the report titled ‘Circular Economy: Recycling Waste to Wealth’ by Avendus, the world is under greater pressure than ever to become sustainable. It was stated that regulations ensuring natural resource conservation, pollution reduction, and reduced fossil fuel consumption must be implemented immediately in order to mitigate climate change.
Koushik Bhattacharyya, managing director and head of industrials investment banking at Avendus Capital, stated, “We believe the recycling sector is at a tipping point due to the increasing emphasis on sustainability and the regulatory push.”
Businesses are realising that being sustainable is the right thing to do and that it increases their perceived value among all stakeholders, with customers increasingly selecting brands based on their sustainability credentials and investors doubling down on ESG (environmental, social, and corporate) mandates, according to Bhattacharyya.
“The sector will soon undergo a shift towards organisation, and new companies will enter the fray to resolve bottlenecks at various legs of the value chain,” he added.
Despite the significant increase in awareness, however, the adoption of circular economy practises has been a significant obstacle. India continues to rely more and more on materials from virgin sources. It is projected that in 2023, only 7% of all material inputs placed back into the global economy will be recycled secondary materials. In 2018, it was estimated that 9 percent of recycled materials were reintroduced into the economy; thus, it is evident that circularity has declined globally over the past five years.
12a The recycling industry is bolstered by various tailwinds, such as the new waste management regulations, which are largely based on the “polluter pays” principle and have imposed various obligations on brand owners, including collection of waste and use of recycled content in the production of new materials.
Ashish Ahuja, vice president of industrials investment banking at Avendus Capital, stated: “India’s plastic waste recycling industry is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of 24% and reach $10.2 billion by FY30.
This will be driven by the increasing use of recyclable plastics, the exponential demand for ecommerce and quick-commerce packaging, and the use of plastics in product lightweighting.”
Ahuja predicted that e-waste recycling will grow at a 23% CAGR to reach $7.5 billion over the same time period, due to the introduction of e-waste management rules and advanced recycling techniques that improve the recoverability of precious elements.
