India's Circular Economy: A strategic shift for sustainable growth

India’s economy has increased tenfold in the last three decades and is projected to be the third largest, with a GDP of $7.3 trillion (Dh26.81 trillion) by 2030. However, this economic growth has also led to an unprecedented increase in its annual material consumption, which grew from 1.18 billion tonnes in 1970 to 7 billion tonnes in 2015 and is projected to reach 14.2 billion tonnes by 2030. As India strives to become a Viksit Bharat, a developed economy, by 2047, it must restructure its growth model to a more resource-efficient one by embedding circular strategies. This shift is not an environmental but an economic imperative that boosts jobs, growth, and sustainability.

A study by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) finds that recycling in four sectors alone in Odisha could be a $1 billion market opportunity in 2030 and could create more than 30,000 jobs. This opportunity would grow tremendously as we expand the focus to other circular strategies such as design, repair, and reuse across sectors and states.

To its credit, India is among the few countries that regulate different types of waste, including some emerging streams such as solar modules and batteries for electric vehicles.

However, these regulations currently focus on waste management by providing targets for recycling and have no incentive for private companies or consumers to reduce waste generation through improved product design, longer life, or choosing products with lower life cycle emissions.

Then there is also India’s Mission LiFE (Lifestyle For Environment), which promotes sustainable practices but needs binding mandates for manufacturers or consumers. This lack of synergy across missions can hinder the shift towards circular business models and conscious consumption.

Need for home-grown tech

On the other hand, recyclers are not investing in advanced recycling technologies that allow the recovery of high-purity materials or have low emissions. Like other sectors, such as clean energy manufacturing, our recycling industry is also plagued by imports. Aiming for quick turnarounds, recyclers across waste streams such as plastic, municipal solid waste, textile, electronics, and solar modules are importing most of their machinery for different stages of recycling and processing and not investing in indigenous machinery. This creates several issues for the sector.