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About
Currently, companies manufacturing FMCG products do not consider product end life cycle management as the core of their product manufacturing process due to not so stringent guidelines and laws from the government. As a result, there is less vigilance on the amount of plastic packing produced and how it is treated or recovered back from the system. This unhandled plastic eventually ends up in landfills or ocean. Causing huge environmental damage to the ecosystem. Consumers are also not made liable for their actions/ consumption of certain goods which are not environment friendly.
FACT
India generates 25,940 tonnes of plastic waste every day. Of these 10,376 tonnes, a day is uncollected plastic. And 1/6th of the plastic waste is generated by 60 cities. Half of this comes from Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai & Kolkata.
80% of the plastic produced is used in the packaging sector.
The aim of the project is to study the product end life cycle management of plastic products and find gaps in the existing system. Based on the findings design a solution with a systems thinking approach.
Full Project
Understanding the system
There has been a major change in the lifestyle of middle-class families when it comes to product consumption. And plastic has been a major agent in bringing about this
change. Through the innovation and marketing strategy of products wrapped in plastic, it has made it an intrinsic part of our life. As a result, 80% of plastic produced is used in the packaging sector because of the high demand in the supply and demand chain.
From this graph by Geyer it is clearly seen that there
has always been a rise in the production of plastic
From this graph, it is seen that the amount of discarded plastic is still much higher than the amount of recycled plastic
A focus on the A1 cities of India in this plastic situation
A major contributor to plastic waste has been the cities categorized as A1. Making the consumers of these cities an important entity in the management plan of the plastic waste.
50% comes
from the *A1 cities
Less then
70% is collected
16.8% of plastic
waste generated
by 60 cities
India generates 25,940 tonnes of plastic waste every day
Only 19% is
treated and
processed,rest
goes to landfill
*Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru,
Chennai & Kolkata
Municipality waste management
for local urban bodies
There has been a major change in the lifestyle of middle-class families when it comes to product consumption. And plastic has been a major agent in bringing about this
change. Through the innovation and marketing strategy of products wrapped in plastic, it has made it an intrinsic part of our life. As a result, 80% of plastic produced is used in the packaging sector because of the high demand in the supply and demand chain.
Flow chart for household waste collection, Transportation and disposal
Stages of material recovery in Municipal Solid Waste Management Chain
Waste Flow Diagram Depicting Points Of Quantification
There has been a major change in the lifestyle of middle-class families when it comes to product consumption. And plastic has been a major agent in bringing about this
change. Through the innovation and marketing strategy of products wrapped in plastic, it has made it an intrinsic part of our life. As a result, 80% of plastic produced is used in the packaging sector because of the high demand in the supply and demand chain.
Government guidelines/rules for
tackling plastic waste
The ULBs, particularly the municipality waste management division has been primarily responsible for urban waste collection and processing. But with the increase in the quantity of waste generation the traditional waste management systems are failing and the majority of the waste collected is dumped in the landfills. The government of India has recently come up with new guidelines to handle plastic waste, among which EXTENDED PRODUCER RESPONSIBILITY and Waste treatment In the WASTE TO ENERGY PLANTS has been of primary focus in my research.
Waste To Energy Plants
Waste to Energy (WTE), is a term that is used to describe various technologies that convert non-recyclable waste into usable forms of energy including heat, fuels, and electricity. WTE can occur through a number of processes such as incineration, gasification, pyrolysis, anaerobic digestion, and landfill gas recovery
Case Study
The two most notable countries that have made significant contributions toward a sustainable WM infrastructure by incorporating WTE technologies are Sweden and Denmark.
Environmental
Factor
Waste to energy is one of the most robust and effective alternative energy options to reduce co2 emissions and replace fossil fuels
Sweden
Sweden recycles over
99% of its MSW
50.3% of all household waste is incinerated for energy recovery
16% is used
in AD.
Only 3% of Copenhagen’s trash goes to landfills.
Denmark
54% is used in incinerators to create heat and electricity.
97% of all city residents receive their energy as excess the heat produced by their waste incinerators.
Copenhagen’s latest projects include an incinerator that also functions as a ski slope and a WTE education center for its citizens
Waste To Energy situation in India
There are a total of 186 Waste To Energy plants in India. Out of which 94 are based on Biogas and bio compressed natural gasses, 87 on Agricultural and Industrial waste, and only 5 are based on Municipal solid waste. 4 out of these 5 are actually functional.
186
Projects
Biogas and
bio (CNG)
94
87
Agriculture and industrial waste
5
Based on municipal solid waste
4
Are functional
Why is it not working in India?
01
Mixed waste
The municipal solid waste (MSW) in India has low calorific value and high moisture content. “As most wastes sent to the WTE plants are unsegregated, they also have high inert content. These wastes are just not suitable for burning in these plants.
02
Unavailability of waste
Of the 55 million tonnes of MSW generated every year, only about 15 percent can be classified as non-biodegradable, non-recyclable, high-calorific-value waste. This translates into about 30,000 tonnes per day (TPD) of waste, which can be fed to the WTE plant. The total waste treatment capacity for 48 existing, under-construction, and proposed WTE plants is over 37,000 TPD.
03
High Tariff
The tariff rates for these projects are very high at more than Rs 6-7 per unit (generic tariff determined by few State Electricity Regulatory Commissions and the tariff discovered through bidding in Andhra Pradesh was Rs 6.2 to Rs 7.5 per unit in 2017). This is because of a high capital cost, high O&M expenses, low calorific value of the fuel used, and the additional fuel used to burn the waste,”.
Extended Producer Responsibility
India has a law that requires all companies to recover the plastic they use to package their products. The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change notified the Plastic Waste Management (PWM) Rules in March 2016 which mandated extended producer responsibility (EPR) for all plastic producers, importers and brand owners (PIBOs). With the advent of producer responsibility organisations (PROs) in 2018, the companies have outsourced their EPR targets.
Insight
After the secondary research, I Found out the following insights
Which I considered while coming up with the design directions
Integration of plastic in everyday life
Lifestyle change due to the availability of the plastic-wrapped products in the FMCG domain. Moving away from this lifestyle is difficult for the common mass. Plastic makes products easily accessible, keeps it fresh, and makes it easy to carry around. Hence giving up plastic-wrapped products means giving away all these comforts, which makes the shift from plastic-wrapped producer difficult for the consumers
FMCG consumers
80% of plastic waste is produced in the FMCG industry. The huge no of FMCG consumers is responsible for the sales of these products. But nowhere in the system are the consumers properly integrated into the waste management system
Improper source segregation hence Mixed waste
Currently, the municipality waste collection does not give the consumers the opportunity to segregated waste disposal, hence majority of the waste is mixed waste which cannot be used further in the processing plants. This mixed waste ultimately ends up in the landfills.
Absence of plastic waste in the value chain
The absence of a national level levy structure is not letting the plastic waste be incorporated in the value chain. Hence consumers treat plastic waste as only waste making no value after the product has been consumed.
Issues with EPR
National level guidelines for EPR is hindering the implementation of this guideline.
By making things transparent from the producer's side, to the remaining stakeholders in the system will help achieve EPR more widely.
Lack of manpower
There is a noticed lack of manpower in the waste management system with respect
to urban waste management. On the other hand, a lot of people (rag pickers and kabadiwalas)in the informal sector scavenge waste from landfills to meet daily needs.
Lack of monitoring and reporting structure for the waste processing plants
Due to a lack of monitoring and proper reporting structure in the waste management system from the ULBs for the waste processing plants, quantification of the processed waste goes to toss. With no clarity of the waste that is being processed.
Lack of reverse logistics for waste collection
Product distribution has a very well established supply chain from the brand owner's side which is missing in the collection of the used product packagings.
If reverse logistics can be properly implemented, then the producers can easily full-fill the PRO guidelines.
Stakeholders
From the research phase, I pointed out the stakeholder and
established the boundary of the system in my consideration
The relation between the government, Producers, PROs, and consumers
Pain points
After the secondary research, I Found out the following insights
Which I considered while coming up with the design directions
Personas
3 personas were created, 1 for the waste manager, and 2 for the consumers.
As both are the primary touching points during the product end life cycle
"Scavenging waste from the landfill does not guarantee a constant income for me. So every day have to go different landfills to scavenge for waste which I can sell at some profit"
Hard-worker
Nirmala , 42 | Delhi
Rag Picker
Scenario
She has to go the landfills everyday and scavange for waste to take care of the basic needs and support her family. It is unhygenic and causes her breathing problem to scavange waste from the pill of mixed waste. There is no gurentee of cash flow, and the income depends on how much waste she can scavange from the pill which she can sell of at some profit.
Goal
Have some financial stability
To be able to work in a bit more hygenic and humanly environment
Have some support from the government
01
03
02
Frustrations
Have to survive on a day to day basis of income
Cannot enter the gated societies
01
02
Concerned
Pradnia , 21 | Kolkata
Rag Picker
"Every time I buy any item from the store, it makes me feel guilty knowing the amount of plastic waste I am going to generate. "
Scenario
Goes to the supermarcket or goes online to purchase monthy requirements, which all comes in plastic packaging. After consuming the products she disposes them withiut having the option to segregate the garabge to the door to door collection of waste by the municipality. Due to lack of time she cannot contribute to the waste management senario of the present time.
Goal
To be able to recycle the plastics she purchases actively and at a regular basis
To be more involved and informative about the types of plastic packaging she purchases
Be responsible towards the environment, in an efficient way not having to compromise her daily routine and work
02
03
01
Frustrations
Have to dispose her waste in a non segregated way
Not being able to make a choice due to lack of information about the items that she buys.
Not having easy alternatives to shift from her present habit of buying plastic packaged items
03
01
02
Busy
Roy , 31 | Bangalore
Rag Picker
"Being very busy in my job and also having to do all my work at home I hardly find any time. It becomes very difficult for me to visit the refill stores to avoid One time plastic packaging and collect my requirements every time. But I'm also a environment enthusiast. "
Scenario
Monthly once he visits the refill stores an the weekends to procure his monthly requirements. He has to put thid event in his calender and make it an event as the nearest refill store is also quite far away from his location. But almost every month he has to visit the regular grocery store when his grocery gets over in the middle of the month, and visiting the refill store becomes infeasible for him.
Goal
Want to switch to “zero waste” life style
Support the initiatives of alternate ways of purchasing products to make them more mainstream
To be able to take ownership of the waste generated by him and contribute to the “end life cycle” of the products he purchase
02
03
01
Frustrations
Due to busy lifestyle, it is getting difficult for him give up the easier option of procuring the items of his need
Not being able to consume certain items due to the unavailability of alternate packaging
Not being able to contribute to the crisis situation of waste management
02
01
03
Priority actions to minimize single-use plastics waste
After finding out the gaps, I listed out the required priority actions which I considered while exploring in the solution.
01
02
03
04
Design Principles
01
Digitalization
One of the major problems of plastic waste management is that all the stakeholders involved in the process are existing individually current. The guideline formulated by the government is failing because of this loose structure.
By digitalization, making the gov body as the central entity to which all the stakeholders and other entities are interconnected will help the waste management system for plastic waste attend the structure of the circular economy.
02
Transparency
Improper communication between all the stakeholders and major entities, encourages irresponsible behaviours towards management of waste generated by them. Also hindering the functioning of the different establishments in this system.
By making the system transparent to the entities involved makes the process more pipelined and functional.
03
Behavioural Change
Currently, consumers are not made responsible for the waste that they generate on a regular basis. Plastic packaging after consuming the content in it does not hold any value for them.
Helping them to see value in the plastic waste that they generate and feel responsible towards it will help to bring about a behavioural change in the consumer's mind. This, in turn, will evolve the consumers generate less plastic waste and start using alternative or greener packaged products
04
Social Mobility
In the waste management system, the only people who see value in waste among the primary touchpoint are the rag pickers and kabadiwalas. Currently this informal sector is not quite recognised by either the gov, consumer, or the waste management companies.
By incorporating this informal sector will help them attend social mobility by providing them with recognised job opportunities and also help consumer take responsibility towards the waste that they generate.
Problem Statement
Current EPR Guidelines is not transparent and fail to handle product end life cycle, waste to energy plants fail to generate profit due to inefficient supply chain of waste, consumers are not made responsible for source segregation of waste.
Systemic Solution Mapping
Possible Solution directions in the system
Solution
The solution is aimed at solving the problem at the systemic level. Hence firstly, I have done a system redesign taking into consideration the gov guidelines and linked the stakeholders to bring about circularity in the flow of plastic in the system. And secondly, a service design to incorporate the consumers and make the redesigned system sustainable and robust.
The digital service acts as a touchpoint between the multiple stakeholders in the system design. Through this service design, the FMCG consumers become a part of the product end life cycle management and take charge of three social responsibility of keeping the environment clean. Along with this, all the stakeholders mentioned before are in direct contact making the waste management process transparent to all.
System Redesign
Service design
Designing solution at the systemic level to solve the problem of source segregation, proper functioning of the WTE plants, maintaining the circular flow of plastic in the system following the EPR guidelines and incorporating the informal sector in the management of plastic waste generated from the FMCG products.
System Redesign
Interaction between the stakeholders
Designing solution at the systemic level to solve the problem of source segregation, proper functioning of the WTE plants, maintaining the circular flow of plastic in the system following the EPR guidelines and incorporating the informal sector in the management of plastic waste generated from the FMCG products.
Service design
This app acts as the face of the redesigned system to first, incorporate the consumers in the system, the last touchpoint of the product life-cycle. second formalize the informal sector in the waste management domain and lastly connect the PRO,WTE plants and the gov
Identity Design
The meaning of the word Restore is "to bring back or re-establish". This app aims to do exactly the same, channelize the process of collecting plastics, and restoring it to form a circularity to its existence.
R
+
The Logo is derived from the first letter "R" of the name of the app "Restore" and the sign for recycling
How it works?
Plastic producers will have to update in the gov database the quantity and quality of plastic that they will produce annually.
Currently, there are no digital records of these producers in the gov database. From the gov’s side, it will reflect upon the EPR related information of the producers.
The different types of processing plants of plastic waste management will be sharing information with the government in this portal. Tenders, EPR certificates and recycling data will be submitted in
this portal
Producers
Plants
Mobile App
Gov Database/Portal
Informal sector
Individual Consumer
Consumers will come in contact with the Waste collectors through this app. Producers related information will also be reflected in the app sourced from the gov database.
The informal sector and workers will register themselves in the government portal through this app platform and receive a verification from the gov to collect garbage from even the gated establishments. Money transactions for their salary, quantification of waste collected by them will also be through this platform. Establishing connection to the consumers will also be through this app.
Taskflow
01
Flow diagram of
How WTE plants acquire waste?
Waste To Energy Plants
Monthly based collection by the rag pickers notifications will be sent to the consumer in the “Restore” app
OR
The consumers can schedule a pickup with The rag pickers
Individual consumers and commercial places
Rag pickers
WTE Eco-system
Value
Direct communication from the WTE plants to the consumers about the stats will generate empathy, which will encourage the consumers to be responsible for their waste. The consumers will contact the waste managers through the app to come to collect their waste. The WM will transfer points equivalent to the waste received to the consumers. The WM on transferring the waste to the plant will get back the points distributed by him/her, this will also work as a point of quantification for the plastic waste
02
Flow diagram of
How Ragpickers get paid?
WTE Eco-system
Checks the waste and reimburses the equivalent to the bounty points given by the rag pickers to the consumer in the rag pickers Bounty green app
Individual consumers
Picks up waste from
the consumer
Delivers the
non-recyclable waste
Rag pickers check the waste and transfer bounty points from his account in the Bounty green app
When the ragpicker updates in the Gov portal the total bounty points he/she has collected in the bounty green app. Gov send the equivalent amount of money as their salary in their registered bank accounts
Value
The WM gets to redeem the distributed points to the consumers once he transfers the waste to the plants. At the end of the month, the WM updates the total points collected in the gov database, and the equivalent of that gets transferred to their registered bank account.
03
Flow diagram of
How does consumer benefit work?
WTE Eco-system
Electricity board
Government
Electricity bill
The consumer collects Bounty points in the “Restore ” app and while paying their electricity bills uses these points to get relaxation in their electricity bills
Value
A consumer on giving non-recyclable plastic waste to the WM receives "electricity points" that they can use while paying their electricity bills and get discounts equivalent to the point.
Similarly, for giving recyclable plastic waste they will receive "purchase points" that they can use while buying consumer products to get discounts
04
Flow diagram of
Interaction between Gov,WTE and ragpickers
WTE Eco-system
Value
The waste manager registers themselves in the gov portal and becomes a certified waste manager. This way they will be allowed to collect waste from the gated societies also. While dropping the waste at the plants they collect the money equivalency in the registered account. This will eradicate any shady business by any of the entities in the ecosystem.
Ragpicker
This data gets stored in the Gov database
The rag pickers register
themselves in the Gov portal
The ragpicker's transfers
The collected waste to the WTE plants
Ragpicker
Government
WTE plants
Solution model: Consumers
The goal of this application
Behavioral change
for the consumer
Brand action Information
A shift in
consumption
pattern
Source Segregation
Collection of Green points
Benefits
Track recycling stats(self)
Redeeming discount on FMCG products
Redeeming electricity discount
Collecting points from the WM
Waste pick up
Points Model
Purchase Points
Collection of points -
1. Consumers can collect the points
by giving their "recyclable plastic
waste” to the informal sector
2. Buying products with alternative
packaging (biodegradable
packages, refill stores)
Redeeming the points -
Consumers can avail discounts either
in retail or online purchases in
exchange for the points collected.
Electricity Points
Collection of points -
Consumers can collect the purchase points by giving their “Nonrecyclable plastic
waste” to the informal sector.
Redeeming the points -
Consumers can avail discounts on their electricity bills by using the points
Citizen Points
Collection of points -
1. Choosing to buy from a
responsible producer
2. Buying products with alternative
packaging (biodegradable
packages, refill stores)
Redeeming the points -
Consumers can avail discounts either in retail or online purchases in exchange for the points collected.
App Design
Information architecture
The Information architecture has been designed with the consumer and the waste manager at the center and the other stakeholders as the backend to assisted and incorporate the consumers in the product end life cycle of plastic waste management.
The Interface Design
Scenario 1
Buying and disposing of Plastic packaged products
The user goes to the market to buy things. she opens the app and scans the QR on the products to check the producer details, type of plastic used, and points to be collected while disposing of the package after using it.
The user decides which product to buy based on the plastic-type and responsibility of the producer towards ERP as it will help them to increase their citizen score.
After consumption of the product, the user again scans the QR code to check the plastic-type for segregating the plastic for disposal. They are required to sort the plastic into two types "recyclable" and "Non-recyclable"
The user schedules a pick up of the collected plastic waste. The waste manager comes and picks up the waste and transfer equivalent points in the app, which can be later used to avail for discounts on FMCG product purchase or electricity bills
The waste manager transfers the accumulated plastic waste into the plant. After which the waste manager gets back the points distributed to their consumers, in their app. This drop off also acts as the point of quantification for plastic waste in the gov portal.
At the end of a month, the waste manager updates the collected points in the gov portal and the equivalent amount of money gets transferred in their registered bank account
Scenario 2
Buying products from the market place in the app
After consumption of the product, the user again scans the QR code to check the plastic-type for segregating the plastic for disposal. They are required to sort the plastic into two types "recyclable" and "Non-recyclable"
After consumption of the product, the user again scans the QR code to check the plastic-type for segregating the plastic for disposal. They are required to sort the plastic into two types "recyclable" and "Non-recyclable"
Scenario 3
Exploring the home page
and redeeming electricity points
After consumption of the product, the user again scans the QR code to check the plastic-type for segregating the plastic for disposal. They are required to sort the plastic into two types "recyclable" and "Non-recyclable"
After consumption of the product, the user again scans the QR code to check the plastic-type for segregating the plastic for disposal. They are required to sort the plastic into two types "recyclable" and "Non-recyclable"
Work in progress....
Thank you
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