Plastic bottles to textile yarns – an Indian company is converting 125MT of PET bottles into yarn

India-based PET bottle recycler RSWM Ltd transforms waste bottles into textiles at an astonishing rate. Rob Coker spoke to Chief Managing Director Riju Jhunjhunwala to find out how.

How important is the plastics recycling sector to India's economy, as well as its natural environment?

According to The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), India, the plastic waste generated is around 3.5 million tonnes per year. Out of this roughly around 12 per cent is incinerated and 78 per cent goes to landfills. Plastic waste is blocking the drainage systems, threatening marine life and generating health risks for residents. It is a big menace for the nation and costing the country billions of dollars every year in terms of lost opportunities in ecotourism, increasing the potential for climate changes and thereby unleashing the wrath of nature, resulting in droughts and floods. Therefore one of the biggest challenges faced by India is to recycle its plastic before it pollutes its water bodies and causes irrevocable damage to the naturally endowed tourism destinations in the country. India has recently passed a resolution banning single use plastic to arrest the degradation caused by plastic pollution.

We, however, are able to convert this threat into an opportunity. Opportunity to create value out of waste and generate employment – not just in textiles, but also in ancillary industries like waste collection and transportation. It’s a very tiny beginning but with greater acceptance and awareness, this could become a global phenomenon supported by India. And then it could be a big boost to the national economy overall.

How big a problem is plastics pollution currently in India?

There is both a hidden and a visible impact of plastic pollution. The visible impact is the clogging of water bodies and hygienic issues caused by litter in the streets. The invisible impact is far larger – fisheries that contribute to around one per cent of the GDP and employ around 14 million people is in danger as the water bodies become clogged with plastic, killing the aqua and marine life. Climate changes fuelled directly and indirectly by the plastic pollution threatens the farming community which employs – directly and indirectly – around 50 per cent of the population. Tourism is another area that is being severely impacted. Tourism, which contributes around five per cent of the country’s GDP and employs around 15 per cent of the people, could be seriously impacted by plastic pollution.

This is just the tip of the iceberg. The real impact could be worse as more and more industries are connected to each other in today’s connected world.

Is your feedstock sourced from the Jaipur region alone or nationwide?

The quantity of PET bottle that we consume is quite large. Therefore, it is not possible for dealers from the Jaipur region alone to meet our requirements. We collaborate with national suppliers and tap into national networks to meet our demands.

What is the recovered PET bottle recycled into exactly and in which markets are the products sold?

The PET bottles are recycled and converted into fibres which are further used to create yarns and are sold to markets in India and around 70 countries worldwide. These yarns work as starting materials for clothing, bed linens, curtains and other forms of finished materials. We are working with some of the leading brands around the world who source from us.

How much recycled PET (in weight) is RSWM Ltd able to recycle per day/per year?

The plant is recycling 122 million tonnes of PET Bottles every day. It is operational every day of the year, which makes it a catalyst in recycling a fairly large amount of plastic waste. In numbers, we recycle close to 183 Crores (1,830,000,000) of PET bottles.

There must have been some government assistance to establish a fully automated plant of that size and capacity in just seven years?

The plant was initially conceptualised to make RSWM Lt. self-reliant. It was started at a time when we wanted to produce our own polyester fibre as we wanted to stop depending on external vendors for supplying the material. At that time, plastic was not viewed as a national problem as it is now. Therefore, we have not received any direct aid from the government. However, since plastic has now taken such a centre-stage for the government to combat at such a large scale, we are hoping that it would help us in spreading awareness about the plant, the process and the product. Also, help in making people aware that the garments they are wearing are manufactured from recycled PET bottles. Seeing our contribution to the economy and employment generation, the government should look into offering tax benefits or other rebates to manufacturers like us.

Which companies supply the high-tech processing machinery?

There are lots of companies who are supplying these machines. Some are from India while some are from around the world. The notable ones are from China’s Boretek, Shaoyong (CTMTC) and Shanghai Pacific companies. We also have some machines from Torsion Balance (Hungary) and Keisokki (Japan).

In what ways can RSWM Ltd partner with and learn from European counterparts and how does it intend to achieve this?

We are already working with a lot of global companies. Some of them are European as well. We are trying to promote the concept of yarns manufactured from PET bottles. We need to work on the awareness around the world for which we need platforms and exhibitions such as yours, government support so that there is a positive shift towards using yarns from recycled PET bottles, and consumers, who are consciously looking for these when they buy products.

The awareness will drive consumption and consumption will drive more recycling, which can motivate more and more companies to get in this segment and thereby more and more PET bottles can be recycled around the world and thus making the environment a safer place. It could be one of the biggest contributions we can make towards saving the environment. At RSWM we remove approximately 800,000 tonnes of CO2 annually from the environment.