# Plastic and rubber products and Waste and recycling Plastic packaging and tyres end up as waste that recyclers turn back into resin, crumb rubber and fuel, and India's extended producer responsibility rules make producers pay for that recycling and, from 2025-26, use recycled plastic in their packaging. The rules turn a weak market link into a regulated one, but fake recycling certificates show that enforcement is the weak point. Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/links/plastic-and-rubber-products-and-waste-and-recycling/ [Plastic and rubber products](https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/plastic_rubber/) (industry) and [Waste and recycling](https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/waste_recycling/) (industry): 6 relationships. ## How they are linked ### 1. Buys from *Physical flow · ₹2.2 per ₹100 · Waste and recycling buys from Plastic and rubber products* Waste firms buy bins, bags, liners, crates, pipes and conveyor parts made of plastic and rubber for collection, sorting and landfill operations. - **₹2.2** of every ₹100 of Waste and recycling output, all rounds (India 2022) - **₹1.1** bought directly This is a steady operating cost for the waste sector. US producer prices of the two industries hardly move together month to month (correlation about minus 0.03, 12-month about 0.18), so the link is too weak to use for price forecasting. Sources: [OECD](https://www.oecd.org/en/data/datasets/input-output-tables.html); [Material Insights (World Bank, FRED, IMF data)](https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/plastic_rubber/price-links/) ### 2. Buys from *Physical flow · ₹0.9 per ₹100 · Plastic and rubber products buys from Waste and recycling* Converters and tyre makers pay for disposal of factory scrap and buy recycled resin, reclaimed rubber and EPR services from recyclers. - **₹0.9** of every ₹100 of Plastic and rubber products output, all rounds (India 2022) - **₹0.3** bought directly The 2022 table predates the recycled-content obligations that start in 2025-26, so direct purchases of recycled material are likely to grow from this low base. Sources: [OECD](https://www.oecd.org/en/data/datasets/input-output-tables.html); [Corporate Professionals](https://www.corporateprofessionals.com/regulatoryupdate/plastic-waste-management-amendment-rules-2026-strengthening-epr-recycled-content-and-reuse-obligations/) ### 3. Industry input *Physical flow · Criticality 2 of 5 · Waste and recycling to Plastic and rubber products* Plastic and tyre recyclers within the products industry depend on collection and sorting of waste for their feedstock. - **about 353 Mt** world plastic waste a year (OECD, 2022 report) - **9%** share of plastic waste ultimately recycled Globally about half of plastic waste goes to landfill, 19% is burned and 22% is mismanaged, so recycled resin supply is limited by collection and sorting, not by the amount of waste. The rating is low because converters can still run on virgin resin when recyclate is short. Enterprise types that depend on it: - Plastic and tyre recyclers: collection and sorting of waste (criticality 2 of 5) Sources: [Material Insights](https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/plastic_rubber/materials/); [Business Recorder (AFP)](https://www.brecorder.com/news/40156270/only-nine-percent-of-plastic-recycled-worldwide-oecd) ### 4. Industry input *Physical flow · Criticality 2 of 5 · Plastic and rubber products to Waste and recycling* Plastic, paper and glass recyclers depend on converters and brand owners as the buyers of the recycled resin they make. Many recyclers compete for this demand, so any one buyer is replaceable, but recycled-content mandates now make converters the anchor customers for recyclers, especially for scarce food-grade resin. Enterprise types that depend on it: - Plastic and tyre recyclers: collection and sorting of waste (criticality 2 of 5) Sources: [Material Insights](https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/waste_recycling/materials/); [Corporate Professionals](https://www.corporateprofessionals.com/regulatoryupdate/plastic-waste-management-amendment-rules-2026-strengthening-epr-recycled-content-and-reuse-obligations/) ### 5. Plastic EPR and recycled content *Policy · High in India · Producers must fund recycling and use recyclate* India's plastic waste rules make producers, importers and brand owners buy recycling certificates and, under the 2026 amendment, put rising shares of recycled plastic into their packaging. - **30% to 60%** recycled content for rigid plastic packaging, 2025-26 to 2028-29 onward - **41.36 lakh t** plastic waste generated in India, 2022-23 (CPCB, Lok Sabha reply, 2026) - **3,012** plastic waste processors registered on the EPR portal (March 2026) Flexible packaging rises from 10% to 20% and multilayer packaging from 5% to 10%, under amendment rules notified on 31 March 2026. Enforcement is the weak point: a 2024 CSE report, citing pollution control board findings, said recyclers had generated 700,000 fake certificates, 38 times their capacity, and that producers placed about 8 Mt of packaging a year on the market against CPCB's waste estimate of about 4.1 Mt. Sources: [Corporate Professionals](https://www.corporateprofessionals.com/regulatoryupdate/plastic-waste-management-amendment-rules-2026-strengthening-epr-recycled-content-and-reuse-obligations/); [TelecomTalk (Lok Sabha reply)](https://telecomtalk.info/over-41-lakh-tonnes-plastic-waste-generated/1005426/); [Down To Earth](https://www.downtoearth.org.in/waste/70k-fake-certificates-major-polluters-missing-misuse-of-epr-legislation-worsening-indias-plastic-problem-shows-cse-report) ### 6. Tyre EPR *Policy · High in India · Tyre makers must fund tyre recycling* Since July 2022 tyre producers and importers must buy recycling certificates for the tyres they sell, which ties tyre output to recyclers' revenue. - **35% to 100%** EPR obligation, 2022-23 to 2024-25, as a share of tyres sold two years earlier Approved outputs are reclaimed rubber, crumb rubber, crumb rubber modified bitumen, recovered carbon black for new tyres, and pyrolysis oil or char used only as fuel. Recyclers' certificate revenue therefore depends on tyre sales two years earlier. Sources: [S.S. Rana & Co.](https://ssrana.in/articles/amendment-rules-extended-producer-responsibility-waste-tyre/) ## For investors ### Key learnings 1. Recycled-content mandates from 2025-26 turn converters and brand owners into required buyers of recycled resin, which favours recyclers with food-grade and certified capacity. 2. EPR certificate fraud found by regulators shows that certificate revenue is only as reliable as enforcement on the CPCB portal. 3. The market price link between plastics and waste services is weak, so recycler margins depend more on rules and on virgin resin prices than on sector price indices. ### What to track - **Recycled resin price against virgin PET and polyolefins**: A narrowing gap eases compliance; a wide premium pressures converter margins (Monthly · trade press, ICIS) - **CPCB EPR portal registrations and certificate audits**: Shows enforcement strength and the risk of certificate write-offs (Quarterly · CPCB) - **Food-grade recycling capacity approvals**: Signals whether mandated recycled content can be met (As issued · FSSAI, CPCB) ## For policymakers ### Key learnings 1. CPCB estimates India's plastic waste at about 41 lakh tonnes a year, but producers report placing far more packaging on the market, so the waste estimate may understate the task. 2. Recycled-content targets rising to 60% for rigid packaging need audited recyclers and food-safety approvals to work. 3. Tyre EPR reached a 100% obligation in 2024-25, measured against tyres sold two years earlier, so recycling capacity has to keep pace with past tyre sales. ### What to track - **Plastic waste generated and processed by state**: Shows where collection and processing fall short (Annual · CPCB) - **Fake or cancelled EPR certificates**: Signals whether audits are closing loopholes (As reported · CPCB, CSE) ## India India generated about 41 lakh tonnes of plastic waste in 2022-23, and its EPR rules now cover plastic packaging and tyres, with recycled-content targets for packaging starting in 2025-26; more than 60,000 producers, importers and brand owners are registered on the CPCB portal. ## Sources 1. [OECD Input-Output Tables 2025 edition, India 2022](https://www.oecd.org/en/data/datasets/input-output-tables.html), OECD 2. [Price correlation, Material Insights](https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/plastic_rubber/price-links/), Material Insights (World Bank, FRED, IMF data) 3. [Materials and criticality: Plastic and rubber products](https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/plastic_rubber/materials/), Material Insights (2026) 4. [Materials and criticality: Waste and recycling](https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/waste_recycling/materials/), Material Insights (2026) 5. [Plastic Waste Management (Amendment) Rules, 2026: strengthening EPR, recycled content and reuse obligations](https://www.corporateprofessionals.com/regulatoryupdate/plastic-waste-management-amendment-rules-2026-strengthening-epr-recycled-content-and-reuse-obligations/), Corporate Professionals (2026) 6. [Over 41 lakh tonnes plastic waste generated in 2022-23: govt data](https://telecomtalk.info/over-41-lakh-tonnes-plastic-waste-generated/1005426/), TelecomTalk (Lok Sabha reply) (2026) 7. [Fake certificates, major polluters missing: misuse of EPR legislation worsening India's plastic problem, shows CSE report](https://www.downtoearth.org.in/waste/70k-fake-certificates-major-polluters-missing-misuse-of-epr-legislation-worsening-indias-plastic-problem-shows-cse-report), Down To Earth (2024) 8. [Only nine percent of plastic recycled worldwide: OECD](https://www.brecorder.com/news/40156270/only-nine-percent-of-plastic-recycled-worldwide-oecd), Business Recorder (AFP) (2022) 9. [Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for waste tyre, India](https://ssrana.in/articles/amendment-rules-extended-producer-responsibility-waste-tyre/), S.S. Rana & Co. (2022)