Bayer & PI Industries Launches ‘Plastic Waste Take Back’ Pilot Project with Sahyadri Farms

Bayer and PI Industries launched their 'Plastic Waste Take Back' Pilot Project today, in collaboration with Sahyadri Farms. Recykal's technology-driven initiative aims to reduce the environmental impact of farm-based plastic through proper plastic waste collection and recycling.

About ‘Plastic Waste Take Back’ Pilot Project:

This Pilot Project will accelerate sustainability in agriculture and involves the setting up of 12 Empty Container Collection Bins (ECCB) across Nashik, Maharashtra. Each will serve a cluster of roughly 5 neighboring villages, aiming to support over 60 villages and 1500 farmers across four locations: Nilwandi, Sonewadi, Sawargaon and Umberkhed.

This is a joint initiative with a leading integrated agrichemicals solution company, PI Industries. Sahyadri Farms will mobilize the farmers through its local presence and Recykal, via apps will mobilize stakeholder actions and provide cloud-based solutions for waste management. It will facilitate the collection, recycling and incineration of non-recyclable plastic waste. Together, Bayer and PI Industries will connect the link between Recykal and FPOs and financially sponsor the overall project management.

The project will facilitate waste collection in Nashik and will further be expanded to cities across India through increased awareness, education and dedicated infrastructure needed to bring about behavioral shift amongst farmers and promote safe waste disposal. Sahyadri farms will also assist in aligning with cluster farms, maintaining the access database, identifying the space for ECCB installation and helping create awareness.

Speaking on the initiative, Simon Thorsten Wiebusch, Executive Director, Bayer CropScience Ltd. said, “To address agriculture’s pressing challenges, such as its environmental impact and the rising issue of plastic waste management, partnerships with like-minded stakeholders are critical. Driven with the support of partners across the ecosystem, our ‘Plastic Waste Take Back’ Pilot Project fosters a common goal of preventing post-consumer plastic waste from going to landfills by digitally connecting waste generators, waste processors and recyclers. Through this collaborative effort, we at Bayer, look forward to creating a sustainable agricultural ecosystem, free of plastic waste across the country.” 

“We are excited to collaborate with our partners with a single aim to shape a more sustainable and inclusive world through responsible waste management. By engaging teams at the grassroots level, our ‘Plastic Waste Take Back’ Pilot Project aims to contribute to and accelerate the transition to a circular plastics economy. We at PI Industries, look ahead to making big achievements through united efforts of our partners, meaningful actions and consistent progress,” said Prashant Hegde, CEO, PI Industries.

Vilas Shinde, Managing Director, Sahyadri Farmers Producer Company Ltd. Said, “As a farming community, it is our prime responsibility to efficiently plan for sustainability in farms. Every individual needs to treat all kinds of ‘waste’ including plastic as a value. A value that could be environmentally encashed for the betterment of the planet. Appropriate disposal of plastic will not only help us to manage ecosystem balance but also prove to be an effective tool to comply with Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) norms.”

Single-use plastics are the most common type of plastic found in landfills and among the most difficult to recycle. India has a major issue with plastic waste. 9.25 million tonnes of plastic enter the waste stream, with 60% of that waste recycled and 40% ending up in landfills. With discarded agricultural waste causing significant environmental damage and endangering oceanic life, proper waste disposal and recycling practices must be established.