India, Sept. 30 -- Alternatives like paper, cloth, biodegradable plastics, glass, etc have relative merits and no single alternative can be the solution to what is essentially a crisis caused by human behaviour

Ever since Prime Minister Narendra Modi called out against the use of single-use plastics (SUPs) in his 73 rd Independence Day speech, stakeholders have been holding their breath waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Approximately 25,940 tonnes per day (TPD) of plastic waste is generated in India, according to the Central Pollution Control Board's (CPCB) 2015 report on assessment and quantification of plastics waste generation in major cities. Of this, around 15,600 TPD (60 per cent) gets recycled, still leaving behind nearly 10,00...