New Delhi, Apr 1: The ambitious circular economy goals envisioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to receive a major fillip with the government notifying final guidelines mandating use of 40 per cent recycled content in food-grade packaging effective April 1.
According to Goutham Jain, Director General, APR Bharat, the move marks a significant milestone in the country’s commitment to sustainable resource management particularly at a time when global supply disruptions and geopolitical uncertainties have already begun to impact the availability and pricing of virgin PET, making dependence on imports both costly and unreliable.
Earlier in March this year, FSSAI had granted authorization to seventeen recycled PET manufacturing plants unlocking 3 lakh tonne capacity for the country’s circular packaging economy.
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has in its latest guidelines mandated use of 40 per cent recycled content in food-grade PET packaging in 2026-27. In its draft notification issued on June 3, 2025, MoEFCC had allowed brands and producers to carry forward shortfalls in meeting the 30 per cent r-PET target for food contact applications for 2025-26 over the next three years. Starting April 1, brands and producers are required to use 40% recycled content in packaging. In addition, they are also expected to carry forward unfulfilled target for mandatory use of recycled content of FY25-26 (30% Mandate) for a period of up to three consecutive years with a minimum of one third of the carry forward target to be achieved every year.
“We wholeheartedly welcome the government’s progressive step which has reinforced confidence in the vision of ensuring circular economy. The move is set to significantly ease the supply chain disruptions caused due to recent geopolitical uncertainties impacting both availability and pricing of virgin PET. With the current authorised capacities in place, India is well positioned to cater to up to 50 per cent of the total PET requirement for bottling applications through recycled material,” Jain said.
“The mandate is expected to accelerate the adoption of recycled PET across the food and beverage sector, creating robust demand for high-quality recycled materials while strengthening the domestic recycling ecosystem. By closing the loop on plastic use, the policy will play a pivotal role in reducing plastic waste leakage into the environment and minimizing dependence on virgin plastics,” he added.
It is to be noted that the Plastic waste Management Rules 2016 mandates the use of 30 per cent recycled content in rigid plastic packaging effective from 2025-26 with gradual increase of 10 per cent every year until 60 per cent in 2028-29 and onwards. Aligned with this mandate, 15-18 food-grade rPET recycling facilities were established across the country with a total capacity of approx. 3 lakh MT at an estimated investment of INR. 9,000 – 10,000 Crores.
These companies have adopted state-of-art technology and set up their factories adhering to standards approved by the European Food Safety Authority and US Food and Drug Administration .
