Plastic world spies potential

NEW DELHI: The country''s plastics industry exudes cautious confidence that it will be able to maintain over 15 per cent growth and increase consumption levels. Plastic stands second only to tobacco in terms of consumption. But environmental concerns continue to dog the industry.
"But," says LK Singh, chairman of the Delhi coordination committee at PlastIndia 2003, "India has a long way to go to catch up with countries in the West, especially the US."
The per capita consumption in western countries is around 100 kg and in India it is only about 4-5 kg, says Singh.The level of affluence in a country is key to the level of usage.
"Plastics has made its way into everyday life — cars, computers, household appliances, entertainment, health and medicine — the more the money, the more the consumption," argues Rakesh Shah, MD Windmoller and Holscher India .But there''s opportunity yet. Industry analysts, despite the global slowdown, see consumption is rising in emerging markets like India and China.
PlastIndia this year has seen, for instance, business transactions of around Rs 600 crore up from around Rs 405 crore in 2000. Around 30 per cent of the pie went to ancillary sectors like machinery, petrochemicals, rubber and special inks.
Unfortunately, Indian enterprises haven''t done enough yet. Another concern has been the environment. Jim Brown, project advisor, DCM Shriram Consolidated,says myths have to be dispelled.
"Plastic is like any other product. There are advantages and disadvantages, but we need to take a holistic view. We must have plastic, but the concerns must be recognised and industry is responding," he says.
"It''s just a question of minimising the effects of industry on the ecosystem." The industry agrees that it should set similar standards of best practices as in the developed world.