Hyderabad’s war against plastics in limbo as GHMC action plan fails to take off

Hyderabad: Five years after the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) devised an ambitious Plastic Waste Management Strategy and Action Plan grounded in circular economy principles, the vision of a sustainable plastic system in the city remains unrealised. The plan, which proposed a 10-year roadmap to reduce plastic at source, enforce segregation, boost recycling, raise public awareness, and strengthen institutional coordination, has seen only fragmented implementation so far.

Despite a high collection efficiency of 98% reported by GHMC in 2019, discrepancies in estimation and ground-level practices expose a gap between policy intent and execution, as per data.

Waste Generation Outpaces Planning

According to GHMC data, Hyderabad generated 325 tonnes per day (TPD) of plastic waste in 2019. However, a detailed assessment by ICLEI South Asia places this figure higher – 365 TPD from residential areas alone. The figure is projected to climb to 495 TPD by 2025 under a business-as-usual scenario.

At the Jawahar Nagar Integrated Solid Waste Management (ISWM) facility, plastic accounts for 6% of incoming waste, with most of it being low-value LDPE. Field evidence suggests that implementation has been inconsistent. The informal recycling sector dominates, while large numbers of pelletisation and manufacturing units operate without regulatory approval.

Industrial Units and Regulatory Gaps

Plastic recycling facilities are concentrated in areas such as Kattedan, Jeedimetla, Cherlapally, and Pedda Amberpet. Most rely on recycled granules, with the recycled content in production ranging from 30% to 70%. Despite the potential for high-quality pelletisation, substandard washing and poor regulation result in low-grade end products.

Expert Warning: No Regulation at the Source

Environmental economist prof Donti Narasimha Reddy says the root problem lies in the absence of production-level regulation.

“There is essentially no regulation addressing the adjustment of plastic use,” he says. “Existing laws focus only on post-use disposal under the Environment Protection Act. Even Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is disposal-oriented.”

He says that the emphasis on banning carry bags or other retail-level measures fails to tackle the real issue – packaging.

“Packaging is the single largest contributor to plastic waste, but packaging regulations remain untouched,” Reddy says.

He also warns that the 2021 (single-use plastic) SUP ban is ineffective due to lack of enforcement.

“There is no designated agency accountable for the ban, and no institutional capacity to regulate the 19,000-plus chemicals used in plastics. Alternatives exist, but they’re not integrated into the regulatory or market systems,” he says.