Talking Trash: The corporate playbook of false solutions to the plastic crisis

The report argues that the plastic industry in India employs lobbying and distraction tactics to protect profits and maintain the production of single-use plastics. It highlights how key legislation, such as the Plastic Waste Management Rules, has been watered down through industry influence, specifically regarding the phase-out of multi-layered plastics. The document also criticizes voluntary corporate pledges from companies like Nestlé, Unilever, and PepsiCo, characterizing them as lacking transparency and relying on 'downcycling' rather than true circularity.

• The plastic industry in India uses a 'campaign of distraction' to avoid meaningful regulation, which includes promoting beach clean-ups, claiming products are more recyclable than they are, and touting bio-based or compostable alternatives.
• Industry lobbying successfully weakened the Plastic Waste Management Rules 2016; a 2018 amendment removed a two-year phase-out deadline for non-recyclable multi-layered plastics (MLP) after pressure from the All India Plastic Manufacturers Association (AIPMA) and the PET Packaging Association for Clean Environment (PACE).
• Multi-layered packaging (MLP) is a significant driver of pollution in South Asia, as its complex composition makes recycling and disposal difficult, yet it is promoted by industry as a way to provide affordable small quantities of products.
• Corporate voluntary initiatives in India are criticized for a lack of transparency and for relying on 'downcycling'—such as using plastic for road construction or cement kilns—rather than recycling materials back into the same product.
• There is a significant disparity between the budgets companies allocate to plastic waste management and their advertising spends; for example, Unilever's 2018 advertising budget in India was approximately US$ 459.3 million, while its budget for a multi-city plastic waste program was US$ 286,897.
• The report recommends that Indian policymakers implement a binding national packaging policy, reverse the 2018 amendment to reintroduce the MLP phase-out, and introduce a tax on virgin plastic to incentivize recycled content.

APA

Shah, D. (2020). Talking Trash: The corporate playbook of false solutions to the plastic crisis. Changing Markets Foundation. https://changingmarkets.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/TT-INDIA_FINAL.pdf

Chicago

Shah, Dharmesh. Talking Trash: The corporate playbook of false solutions to the plastic crisis. Changing Markets Foundation, 2020. https://changingmarkets.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/TT-INDIA_FINAL.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Shah |first1=Dharmesh |title=Talking Trash: The corporate playbook of false solutions to the plastic crisis |publisher=Changing Markets Foundation |date=September 2020 |url=https://changingmarkets.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/TT-INDIA_FINAL.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{shah2020talking, author = {Shah, Dharmesh}, title = {{Talking Trash: The corporate playbook of false solutions to the plastic crisis}}, institution = {Changing Markets Foundation}, year = {2020}, month = sep, url = {https://changingmarkets.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/TT-INDIA_FINAL.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }