Plastic Parks in India

Context

The Plastic Parks scheme is promoting industrial growth and environmental sustainability in India’s plastics sector. 

Plastic Park

• It is an industrial zone in particular designed for plastic-related organizations and industries. 
• It aims to consolidate and synergize the capacities of the plastic processing industry, promoting investment, production, and exports while producing employment. 
• These parks also consciousness on attaining environmentally sustainable growth by waste control and recycling projects.

Importance and Progress 

• Plastic Parks have emerged as an important part of India’s strategy for coping with plastic waste, promoting recycling, and assisting the chemical industry. 
• India ranks 12th globally in plastic exports, with exports developing from $8.2 billion in 2014 to $27 billion in 2022, driven by government efforts like the Plastic Parks scheme.
• 10 Plastic Parks had been approved thus far in different States.

Existing Issues 

• The Indian plastics industry was big but distinctly fragmented with dominance of tiny, small and medium devices and therefore lacked the capability to tap this opportunity.

Governments Efforts 

• The Department is enforcing a scheme to aid setting up need based Plastic Parks, with considered necessary current infrastructure, enabling common centers by cluster development method, to consolidate the capacities of the home downstream plastic processing industry.
  • The scheme aims to increase funding, production and export within the plastics sector.
• Under the scheme, the government of India affords supply investment up to 50% of the assignment cost issue to a ceiling of Rs.40 crore per assignment.

Conclusion

• The Plastic Parks concept is a modern venture geared toward enhancing the infrastructure of plastic processing in India.
• The Plastic Parks scheme is a strategic initiative to enhance India’s plastic industry by improving manufacturing, exports, and innovation, at the same time as ensuring a sustainable and environmentally accountable growth.
• As India’s global presence in plastic trade grows, the scheme remains crucial to ensuring that this growth is sustainable, inclusive, and driven by innovation.

Source: The PIB

UPSC Mains Practice Question

Q. What are the impediments in disposing the huge quantities of discarded solid waste which are continuously being generated? How do we remove safely the toxic wastes that have been accumulating in our habitable environment? (2018)

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