Why This Competition Matters

A message from one of the organizers

Why This Competition Matters

Updated January 2022

Frequently cited, India collects 60% of its recyclable plastic waste, whereas, on average, the world, including the United States, hovers between 10-15% of all waste generated.  On a per capita basis, India consumes 1/10th the amount of plastic of the United States, yet this 11 kilogram per capita figure is expected to almost double by 2022.  Almost 10,000 tons of plastic waste per day is uncollected and accumulating on land and in waterways, including an estimated 73,000 tons that winds up in the Meghna-Brahauta-Ganges river each year and then into the ocean. While these statistics are both impressive (recycling rate) and disheartening (10,000 tons/day) for a country over 1 billion people, these statistics do not matter in the day-to-day fight to reduce and prevent plastic waste throughout India’s 29 states and countless cities and rural areas.  What matters are the people and organizations actively involved, often without fanfare or acknowledgement.

OUR MISSION

We call upon the brightest youth in India and the Indian Subcontinent, at the best graduate universities, to identify, and showcase these initiatives and to provide tangible evidence of their successes.


While we will select a number of winners (overall, categories) based on the quality of the case studies presented, our mission is to seek out all initiatives that are contributing to reducing plastic waste in India.

In Season One, we focused on proven projects in India. In Season Two, we expand to also include new innovations, as well as problem locations, as well as include the Indian Subcontinent in geographic reach.

It is our hope that this competition continues to grow in stature and prestige.

CREATING THE PATH – REPLICATING ONE TO CREATE MANY

Ultimately for India to rapidly increase its results to reduce plastic waste, it has to move quickly and decisively –we need 100 similar initiatives to replicate and scale, not only an original one.   

It is our hope that this competition can highlight many good initiatives, and, over time, CAPP can work to replicate, and then scale the very best initiatives actively making a real difference.

NOT ONLY A COMPETITION

One day, the mission and goals of this annual competition will be fulfilled when we can point to 100 similar initiatives throughout the country, all spawned from one of the participants in this competition that we spotlighted, and many more initiatives exist because of this competition and the efforts by the student teams.

Best,


Rob Steir

Co-Founder, Commitments Accelerator for Plastic Pollution

& Partner, FrontlineWaste.com

India’s Plastic Waste Problem

10,000 TONS/DAY UNCOLLECTED

The Below Infographic: The Equivalent of 3,285,000 Elephants Per Year of Plastic Waste

The Ganges river is the 6th worst polluting rivers in the world to carry plastic waste into the ocean

The river provides water to about 40% of India’s population across 11 states, and it impacts an estimated population of 500 million people. An estimated 1.2 billion pounds of discarded soft and hard plastic each year wind up into the river

25% of the uncollected waste each day is from 10 major cities

Dehli, Chennai, Kolkata, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Surat, Kanpur, Pune

(Source CPCB)

PLEASE CONTACT US

contact@cappindia.in

Phone #: 91 22 66950347

Kind attn: Mr Sandeep Shinde

ADDRESS

Indian Plastics Institute

30 Sarvodaya Industrial Area

Mahakali Caves Road, Andheri East

Mumbai 400093 India

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