Working on this report at the Planning Commission of India has been an invigorating experience. At the same time, all through its writing, there were dilemmas of various kinds. It is important, at the outset, to outline at least some of these. The size of this report was essentially governed by the guidelines by WHO and UNICEF for the country assessments. The guidelines essentially were meant to ensure a degree of standardisation across country reports. Considering the size and diversity of India and the multiplicity of institutions involved in water and sanitation interventions across the length and breadth of India, one significant and obvious dilemma was that it was impossible to acknowledge each one of them. The fact that some institutions and some interventions have been referred to in this report does not in any way mean that the others are in any way less important or significant. This is particularly true of NGOs and their interventions and of the roles of the various external support agencies, which have in many instances, made invaluable contributions to the sector.
These guidelines aim to provide a framework for preventing recycling-related plastic and pellet losses, and environmental leakage. The guidelines are useful for a broad spectrum of stakeholders, particularly policymakers and key plastic recycling actors, including informal waste pickers, junkshops, consolidators, and plastic recycling craft villages. The application of these guidelines is expected to contribute to improving production efficiency in the plastic recycling chain while preventing plastic leakage into the environment.
The manual aim to support both formal and informal recycling enterprises in preventing plastic pollution by advocating best practices and promoting proper housekeeping within informal recycling facilities.
The main goal of this study is to evaluate plastic and pellet losses and leakage from the logistical handling and pre-processing operations of informal recycling groups in Thailand, focusing on recovered post-consumer plastic waste and factory processing operations. The focus areas of this study are the Nonthaburi Municipality and Pattaya City.
This study was conducted following on a simplified three-step approach: 1) collect and analyse data and information relevant to plastic leakage from informal sector recycling; 2) engage with key stakeholders; and 3) disseminate the outcomes of the study.
