“REVIEW PAPER ON WASTE PAPER MANAGEMENT IN INDIA : FUTURE
PROSPECTS AND SUGGESTIONS”
- BY DEV ISHAAN AGARWAL(21BA135)
ABSTRACT
India has both opportunities and problems in the field of paper recovery and processing due to its
rapidly growing population and paper consumption. Recycling paper trash is crucial for
developing nations like India because it straddles the line between resource sustainability and
environmental preservation. There are many untapped opportunities and possible improvements
that might be made, despite the significant hurdles involved in collecting waste paper and
processing recovered materials. This study is in the form of a review paper cum summary of the
waste paper management in India, highlighting its challenges in the form of stakeholders’
identification, followed by the smooth formation and functioning of waste management supply
chain and strategy for strengthening such a system. This will be followed by certain suggestions
to overcome these challenges in order to flourish and enhance the contribution of the waste
management sector towards India’s growing economy.
Keywords: Recycling Paper, Stakeholders’ Identification,Supply Chain
INTRODUCTION
Waste paper management includes the processes and actions required to manage paper waste
from its inception to its final [Link] global waste management market size was valued at
$1.3 trillion in 2020, and is expected to reach $2.4 trillion by 2030, registering a CAGR of
around 4% from 2021 to 2030. The global waste paper management market size was valued at
$42.2 billion in 2021, and is projected to reach $96.1 billion by 2031, registering a CAGR of
8.5% from 2022 to 2031.
On the other hand, the India Waste Management Market size is estimated at USD 32.09 billion in
2023, and is expected to reach USD 35.87 billion by 2028, growing at a CAGR of 2.25% during
the forecast period (2023-2028).However,there is no precise data available on the waste paper
management market size in India,thus as per the lines of the above mentioned points pertaining
to global market size,India’s Waste Paper Management Market Size would be roughly around
5-10% as majority of the market size is captured by Plastic and e-wastes.
OBJECTIVES
This study will be based on the key findings of the five researches done on the waste paper
management along with a working paper done by one of the important wings of the government,
i.e., Department of Promotion for Industry and Internal Trade,which works in this domain
towards policy legislation of waste paper management. Along with the key findings of the above
mentioned sources, the study will try to provide certain suggestions to the three crucial
challenges lying in front of the Indian Waste Paper Management Sector,which are mentioned as
follows:
1. Identification of all stakeholders and their respective roles & responsibilities, changes
required in the laws/acts/rules and policies
2. Development of chain for enhanced supply of waste paper (recovered paper)
3. Strategy for strengthening the waste paper collection system and infrastructure through
public awareness and educational interventions.
METHODOLOGY
This paper will go into a brief depth of the methodologies and key findings of the six studies
done on waste paper management in India specifically plus the importance of the waste paper
management in other countries through the conclusions derived from certain studies, which will
be discussed under a single head of literature review. Note that the author of this paper has no
specific findings and analysis of his own, it is purely based on the other studies conducted within
a span of 20 years. However, the suggestions provided for the Waste Paper Management in India
are the author's personal opinions on studying this domain along with the sources which will be
mentioned henceforth.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Christer Berglund and Patrik Soderholm(2002) in their paper titled “An Econometric
Analysis of Global Waste Paper and Utilization” discussed the process of paper recycling in
terms of two important parameters, Recovery Rate(the percentage of the total paper consumed in
a country which is recovered and used for further production) and Utilization Rate(the
percentage of the total paper produced in a country which is made from recovered fibre). For
this, a sample of 49 countries were taken into consideration,which were spread across North
America, West Europe, and West and South-East Asia. The methodology used in this analysis is
two-fold: Firstly, it adopted clear and basic definitions of parameters such as Recovery Rate,
Utilisation Rate [Link] secondly,the reference period taken for Data Analysis of paper
exports,imports and consumption is 1996-2000.
The key findings which emerged out of their analysis are: Recovery and Utilization Rates show
signs of improvement for the 49 sample countries. Most importantly,the authors witnessed
increasing significance and awareness towards the demand of paper among the sample countries.
And lastly, the authors highlighted the structural differences on waste paper management among
the developed and developing countries. Nevertheless, there are limitations of this paper as well
such as: Biased results came out as sample taken consists of better-performing countries, thereby
leading to the lack of operationalization of [Link], there is lack of detailed inferences on
the differences in the management of waste paper recycling among the developed and developing
countries.
In 2011,there was a working cum discussion paper titled “Collection and Recycling of Waste
Paper in India”,published by the Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal
Trade,which comes under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry,Government of India,
dealing in implementation of policy legislation for waste paper management in India. Thus, there
is no specific methodology laid out in this discussion paper and primarily deals with policy
interventions from the government authorities to define the obligations of producers and sensitize
the citizens towards such environmental concerns.
The key findings that came out from this discussion paper primarily emphasised on the
implementation of Waste Paper in the Waste Management Rules,2000, which was amended by
the Solid Waste Management Rules,2016 and to a great dismay, the handling of paper wastes was
and still not included yet. One good aspect about this paper is the special emphasis on the role of
NGOs as active participants in such management as they are one of the primary grassroot
stakeholders in this entire management system. However, due to its limited scope and lack of
extensive research on the recycling aspects of waste paper, it failed to deliver the essence of the
significance of waste paper recycling in India and thus legislation alone seems to be the primary
outcome in the entire discussion.
The recycling aspects of waste paper management in India was discussed to a great extent by
Dev Satya Negi,Rita Tandon and [Link](2013) in their paper titled “Waste Paper
Collection Mechanism in India- Current Status & Future Requirement”, in which the
methodology primarily dealt with two approaches of measuring the collection mechanism of
Post-Consumer Paper in India: Firstly, the Collection Performed by the Informal Sector(Consists
of Rag-Pickers and Door-to-Door Vendors-which overall constituted about 90%) and Secondly,
the Collection in terms of the Recovery Potential of Different Grades of Paper Based on the Life
Cycle Analysis.
The important findings emerging out of this paper are: There was a lack of intensive collection
mechanism for copier and cream wove paper from offices due to the missing role of
municipalities in the present waste management network. It also witnessed the huge supply side
problem in the form of the lack of large warehouses for storage,sorting and bailing of waste
paper, leading to the lack of integration of the informal sector with the main supply chain of
waste paper to the paper industry. But, the study is also accompanied by certain limitations: It
failed to discuss the importance of the self-help groups as one of the important grassroot level
stakeholder along with municipalities and thus this study is unable to to give a layout strategy for
the role of municipalities in waste management. Moreover, it restricted itself its discussion to the
concept of recovery potential of paper, thereby resulting into no self-reported limitations for
further research by the authors.
Along with the managerial aspects of waste paper management in India, it becomes important to
understand the background of the technical aspects of waste paper to improve our understanding
of handling such wastes. This aspect has been dealt by the authors Shipra Gupta,Vijay
Kumar,Jasmeet Kalra and Brij Bhusan (2019) in their paper titled “Waste Paper
Management”. The methodology adopted in this study went into the technical aspects of
different paper grades with respect to the suitable dimensions of the waste paper required to
proceed with the recycling process along with other factors like intensity of reflected
light,distance of the detector from the surface of handmade paper etc.
This study has some insightful findings for the technical handling of waste paper recycling:It
found out that the absorption properties of the paper can be improved through an adequate
mixture of wheat flour. It is also important to keep it in mind that the hardness and softness of the
paper should be duly considered for its targeted use.
Notably, the study suffers some limitations as well: It fails to discuss the political and economic
aspects of paper recycling and most importantly, there is complete lagging of the
macro-economic analysis on the resource management aspect.
The limitations of the previous study were completely taken into consideration by another set of
researchers namely Silvija [Link],Rudite Vesere,Zanda U.
Ozola and Dagnija Blumberga(2019) in their paper titled “Paper Waste Recycling:Circular
Economy Aspects”.The methodology in this study comprises multi-criteria analysis into three
steps:Firstly, it takes into account the selection of criteria and assigning weights to different
grades of [Link], it deals with the creation of matrix through assessment of products,
and thirdly there has been a detailed analysis of results through determining the feasibility of
recycled paper grades.
The findings accompanied with this study are:This paper has identified the importance of
investments towards water and electricity requirements for recycling different paper [Link]
also highlighted the climatic impact of the waste paper management system and found out the
negligence towards formalization and technology as the primary missing gap. The study has
certain limitations such as: It fails to provide solutions to create awareness towards waste paper
management, accompanied by the the negligence of recognising the role of the pollution control
boards' role(s) worldwide and most important, it does not give any recommendation of circular
economy as a solution to improve this system despite mentioning it in the paper.
This similar study was conducted in India as well recently by some researchers belonging from
the Forest Research Institute, Dehradun namely Unnati Chaudhary,Rohit Gusain,Akash Dev
and Gyanesh Joshi (2024) in their paper titled “Paper Waste Recycling in India:Current
Scenario and Future Prospects”: The methodology discussed in this paper is diversified into two
domains of operationalization of research: Firstly, it deals with the Recycled Fibre Contribution
for Production of Different Paper Grades, which is accompanied by the Generation and
Collection of Different Varieties of Paper.
This study found interesting observations: In India, there is low recycling rates for all different
paper grades in India, thereby linking the grave concern of the infrastructural gaps in the
segregation of waste paper. This also links to the underlying concern of the lack of formalization
of the waste paper management system, as also observed by the previous study. But, it fails to
provide innovative solutions in the form of the role of start-ups in overcoming the technological
gaps, which has become quite relevant in the present context and most importantly, it did not
recognize the importance of municipalities in formalizing the system.
Moreover, all these studies touched upon the aspects of the identification of stakeholders with
their roles and responsibilities, the development of the value chain for enhanced supply of waste
paper (recovered paper) and the strategy for strengthening the waste paper collection system and
infrastructure through public awareness and educational interventions, but fails to go deeper into
these issues. These aspects serve as the primary focus of this paper and the next section will be
dealt with the suggestions to highlight how these underlying challenges in today’s context of the
Waste Paper Management in India, can be catered to objectively.
SUGGESTIONS
1. Identification of the stakeholders with their roles and responsibilities
STAKEHOLDER ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
1. Government Central Government
● Formulate guidelines in consultation with
other Committee Members along with
valuable inputs from CPCB & SPCB.
● Provide Capital Expenditure Assistance to
State Governments for creating infrastructural
base in Paper Industry.
State Government
●Distribute and allocate funds received from
Central Government to Urban Local Bodies
for the infrastructural facilities of Waste Paper
Collection,Segregation,Reuse and Recycling.
● Frame Guidelines on the basis of the central
guidelines in consultation with State Paper
Associations.
2. Pollution Control Boards Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB)
● Provide Database of paper mill plants and
its pollution generation received from SPCBs
according to the parameters enlisted in their
rules.
● Nodal Body for implementation of EPR
scheme.
State Pollution Control Boards(SPCBs)
● Collect Data of their respective states
regarding paper mills and their plants along
with pollution generation parameters and
provide it to CPCB.
● Ensure implementation of EPR scheme as
directed by CPCB.
3. Central Pulp and Paper Research ● Act as a monitoring and advisory agency
Institute(CPPRI) with Pollution Control Boards.
● Organize training awareness programs in
rural areas for our National Action Plan.
● Publish editorials in leading newspapers on
a monthly basis.
4. Paper Associations ● Should collaborate with each other and act
as a monitoring and advisory agency for State
Paper Associations in implementing
guidelines.
● With respect to State Paper
Associations,they must monitor the grassroot
level stakeholders(Self-Help Groups and
NGOs) on their working on a regular basis.
5. Self-Help Groups(SHGs) and NGOs ● This primary grassroot stakeholder must
hire the informal ragpicker and kabadiwalas
under their umbrellas and train them along
with CPPRI on the guidelines that will be
issued.
● Must work in collaboration with the Urban
Local Bodies to maintain a smooth supply of
value chain process.
6. Urban Local Bodies (Municipalities) ● Act as a monitoring agency in the entire
process of collection and segregation done by
the above mentioned stakeholders on a regular
basis.
● Ensuring registration of paper waste sellers
on the online portal created by the Ministry of
Housing and Urban Affairs and act as a
competent authority for the sellers.
● Work in collaboration with recyclers for the
establishment of Material Recycling
Fibres(MRFs).
7. Start-ups ● Provide technical and manual assistance to
SHGs and NGOs in the process of
collection,segregation,reuse and recycling of
waste paper management.
8. Manufacturers ● Establish their own domestic manufacturing
base to reduce import dependency of raw
materials.
● Get registered in the online portal and
maintain transparency and accountability.
● Promote Research and Development in their
own domain.
9. India Waste Exchange under National ● Act as an aggregator between buyers and
Institute of Urban Affairs(Ministry of sellers of waste paper on the online portal.
Housing and Urban Affairs) ● Establishment of Dispute Settlement
Mechanism in case of violation of terms and
conditions and tussle between buyers and
sellers.
10. Banking Sector ● Ensure smooth flow of credit to the
stakeholders mentioned to boost up the
infrastructural base for the Waste Paper
Management.
2. Development of value supply chain of waste paper: There exists an online portal named
“India Waste Exchange” created by the National Institute of Urban Affairs under the Ministry of
Housing and Urban Affairs where there is buying and selling of different types of wastes
including Paper wastes,thereby creating a smooth value chain in the Waste Management
[Link],it has not been given due recognition because of the lack of awareness about
[Link] idea has been inspired from the Madras Waste Exchange Portal,which was started in 2019
and since then it has successfully onboard 800 buyers and 300 sellers till now with proper
registration,verification and [Link] this portal,the National Institute of Urban Affairs
acts as an aggregator/intermediary between Buyer and Seller with respect to the Terms and
Conditions Involved with respect to the Quantity and Price of the wastes.
Flow Diagram for the Proposed Value Chain of Paper Waste Management is as follows:
[Link] awareness via training programs, and educational curriculum
There is a need of training schedules and educational programs for different important
stakeholders(kabadiwalas, local vendors, street side collection shopkeepers, larger traders) of the
wastepaper supply chain with the help of Gram Panchayats,NGOs and Self-Help Groups
through:
1. Training about different grades of papers, their identification and thereafter into different
grades.
2. Proper segregation and storage of different types of papers.
3. Cleaning and contaminant / impurities removal.
4. Proper bailing and storage of bailed heaps.
5. Certification of wastepaper for ensured quality.
Regarding educational curriculum,the Ministry of Education and NCERT should include the
topic of waste management from Standard V onwards because this phase marks the beginning of
the transformation from child to teenager where rational thinking and inquisitiveness increases in
an individual and the learning absorptive capacity gets bigger.
Under Corporate Social Responsibility(CSR)activities, the recycled based paper mills should
promote awareness programmes and educate the people for collection of waste paper.
CONCLUSION
The primary raw material used to make paper in India is waste paper,but limited recovery and
reutilization potential, as well as an intermittent supply of recovered papers to paper mills, are
the pressing issues that must be addressed in the modern [Link] implementation of a
grade-by-grade segregation, quality control,and systematic waste collecting system is a strong
solution to address these [Link] study presents a comprehensive perspective that
highlights opportunities, problems, and bright [Link] conclusion, the adoption of cutting-edge
technologies, strong policies combined with efficient on-the-ground implementation, public
awareness and commitment to move towards a sustainable way of life, and improved quality and
yield for the Indian pulp and paper industry are all necessary for future success in achieving
sustainable paper waste recycling practices.
REFERENCES
1. Berglund,C. and Soderholm,P.(2002);An Econometric Analysis of Global Waste Paper
Recovery and Utilization;Environmental and Resource Economics.
2. Department of Promotion for Industry and Internal Trade(2011) Working Paper;Ministry
of Commerce and Industry,Government of India.
3. Negi,Satya,Dev;Tandon,Rita and Mathur,R.M.(2013);Waste Paper Collection Mechanism
in India:Current Status and Future Requirement;Annual Journal of Central Pulp and
Paper Research Institute;Vol.25,No.3.
4. Gupta,Shipra;Kumar,Vijay;Kalra,Jasmeet and Bhusan,Brij(2019);Waste Paper
Management;International Journal of Engineering and Advanced
Technology(IJEAT);Vol.8,Issue-4S.
5. Kalnins,Silvija N.;Vesere,Rudite;Ozola,Zanda U. and Blumberga,Dagnija(2019);Paper
Waste Recycling,Circular Economy Aspects;Environmental and Climate
Technologies;Vol.23,No.3,pp 260-273.
6. Chaudhary,Unnati;Gusain,Rohit;Dev,Akash and Joshi,Gyanesh(2024); Paper Waste
Recycling in India:Current Scenario and Future Prospects; Quarterly Journal of Indian
Pulp and Paper Technical Association.
