Plastic Industry and Tobacco Playbook

Environmental experts and public health advocates have drawn parallels between the plastic and tobacco industries for their shared strategies in deflecting responsibility, misleading the public, and exacerbating environmental and health crises.

Plastic Pollution, Public Health, and Regulatory Accountability in India and the Global South

1. Parallels Between Plastic and Tobacco Industries

• Profit Over Public Health and Environment:
  • Both industries have a history of prioritizing profits despite irrefutable evidence of harm caused by their products.
• Shifting the Blame:
  • Tobacco: Advertising often emphasizes personal choice, despite systemic addiction issues.
  • Plastics: Corporates blame consumers for low recycling rates, rather than acknowledging systemic failure in plastic waste management.
• Greenwashing and Misleading Science:
  • Tobacco: Funded pseudoscientific studies to question health risks.
  • Plastics: Promoted recycling and “biodegradable” labels while being aware of their impracticality.

2. Targeting the Global South

• Exploiting Weak Regulations:
  • As developed countries tighten controls on plastic use, producers shift focus to low- and middle-income nations with weaker environmental laws.
• Projected Consumption Trends:
  • According to OECD’s Global Plastics Outlook (2022):
  • Plastic consumption is expected to double in Sub-Saharan Africa and triple in Asia by 2060.
  • Only a 15% increase projected in Europe in the same period.
• Lobbying Influence:
  • Fossil fuel and chemical industries are increasingly influencing UN treaty talks on plastics.
  • At INC-3 (Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee), industry lobbyists outnumbered previous rounds by 36%.

3. India’s Plastic Waste Ecosystem

• Informal Sector’s Role:
  • Over 70% of recycled plastic in India is handled by the informal sector (ragpickers, sorters, recyclers).
  • Workers face health hazards and lack formal recognition, social security, or protective equipment.
• Policy Interventions:
  • National Action for Mechanised Sanitation Ecosystem (NAMASTE) Scheme, 2024:
    • Integrates waste pickers into the formal waste management system.
    • Provides PPE, Ayushman Bharat health insurance, and access to social security.
    • As of May 2025, over 80,000 workers profiled under the scheme.
  • Plastic Waste Management (PWM) Rules, 2016 (amended 2022):
    • Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR): Mandates manufacturers to manage lifecycle of plastics they produce.

4. Challenges and the Way Forward

• Enforcement Gap:
  • Despite strong legislation like PWM Rules, enforcement remains inconsistent across states.
  • Informal sector integration is still at a nascent stage in most urban local bodies.
• Greenwashing vs Real Solutions:
  • Mislabeling of products as “biodegradable” without enforceable standards misleads consumers.
• Global Treaty and India's Role:
  • India should push for a binding global plastics treaty with accountability mechanisms for producers.
  • Ensure representation of waste pickers and vulnerable communities in treaty negotiations.
• Public Awareness and Behavioural Change:
  • Strengthen citizen awareness programs against single-use plastic.
  • Promote responsible consumption and waste segregation at source.
• Technology & Innovation:
  • Incentivize R&D in sustainable packaging and scalable plastic alternatives.