Avro Recycling, part of Avro India Limited, has commissioned a facility dedicated to recycling flexible plastics in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, strengthening India’s push to expand the industrial use of recycled PET (rPET).

The newly built plant with an initial capacity of 500 tonnes per month, seeks to scale up to 1,000 tonnes per month between January and March 2026, according to a company statement.

Until recently, materials such as PET and other difficult-to-process plastics, including cement sacks, sugar bags, and calcite packaging, were widely treated as non-recyclable, often ending up in landfills or being downcycled. Avro Recycling’s process enables the upcycling of these materials at scale, allowing for the organized handling of nearly one million tonnes of plastic waste annually.

The facility produces recycled granules, including rPET, which are used in applications that range from plastic furniture and automotive parts to consumer products. According to the company, these materials can reduce raw material costs by around 40% compared to virgin plastics, while still meeting durability and regulatory requirements.

As India’s Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) framework requires a minimum 30% recycled content in rigid plastic products, demand for rPET continues to rise. Avro Recycling aims to meet this growing requirement by supplying reliable volumes of high-quality recycled material, reinforcing its role in the country’s circular economy.

Policy bottlenecks

“India today generates over nine million tonnes of plastic waste every year, yet formal recycling remains in single digits. The current recycling ecosystem is constrained by high taxation on plastic waste and recycling inputs, inconsistent enforcement of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), limited traceability, and inadequate access to modern recycling technology. These structural challenges make EPR-compliant recycling economically unviable and discourage the use of recycled plastics in durable applications, resulting in continued dependence on virgin plastics and increasing pressure on landfills," said Sushil Aggarwal Chairman & Whole-Time Director, AVRO India Limited.

He further added that to address these gaps, the upcoming Union Budget must prioritise making recycling both commercially and operationally sustainable. This should include zero GST on plastic waste, scrap, and recycling machinery, along with a lower GST on recycled plastic granules to incentivise their adoption in long-life products such as furniture and other durable applications. Equally important is the need for clear, stable, and enforceable EPR guidelines with full traceability, supported by capital assistance through a dedicated technology upgradation fund and targeted subsidies for advanced recycling processes and automation. Strategic investments in Plastic Parks, Material Recovery Facilities, and PPP-led recycling infrastructure will be critical to strengthening formal capacity across the entire value chain.

If implemented, these measures can deliver clear and time-bound outcomes, including rapid scaling of the formal recycling ecosystem, significantly improved EPR compliance, and a sustained shift from virgin to recycled plastics across both consumer and industrial sectors. Strengthening domestic recycling capacity will reduce landfill dependency, lower the carbon intensity of plastic consumption, and create large-scale green employment, while enabling Indian recyclers to meet global efficiency and quality benchmarks. "With the right policy push, plastic waste can be transformed from an environmental burden into a value-generating resource, firmly embedded within India’s circular economy framework,” concludes Aggarwal.