Delay in granting licences by food safety regulator FSSAI to recycled PET manufacturing units is likely to push a majority of such plant operators into bankruptcy, the Association of PET Recyclers (Bharat) said.
The industry has set up an annual capacity of 4 lakh MT at an estimated investment of Rs 7,500-8,000 crore to produce recycled polyethylene terephthalate (r-PET) to be used as food-contact packaging material, a statement said.
Revised FSSAI guidelines, which should have been in place at least 2-3 months before April this year, were notified only in the last week of May 2025, which has further extended the timelines for licence issuance to more than nine applications pending with FSSAI since December 2024/Jan 2025.
The delay in production could lead to investments of around Rs 8,000 crore, going to waste. Half of these were funded with bank loans, which could turn into non-performing assets (NPA).
“Prime Minister Modi’s statements on the push for sustainability enthused our members and they got the world’s best technology, matching international standards and set up a plant. We even invited members from FSSAI and others to verify the plants and did everything the government wanted us to but we are being left high and dry due to their casual attitude,” Shailendra Singh, Director General, APR Bharat. Plastic Waste Management Rules were introduced in 2016 with industry industry stakeholders being involved in the making of the regulation. Since then, various amendments have been made based on industry feedback and issues. In 2022, there was a mandate for companies to use 30% recycled food-grade plastic, which was plastic, which was to come into effect from April 1, 2025. These guidelines, which should have been in place at least 2-3 months before April 1, 2025, were actually notified only in the last week of May 2025, pushing the timeline for issuing license for issuing licenses further. “Brands are unable to comply with the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change of India’s mandate, as there isn’t enough recycled capacity. Hence, there was an expectation that the government will announce some sort of referral, either in timeline or will reduce the target but neither of that has happened,” Singh added.
