Plastic Passion
How are corporates
dealing with the increasing backlash against plastic and the expectations that
they play a larger role in cleanup? And how does this affect how these brands
are perceived.
When travelers traipsing about the Indian
countryside, especially at higher altitudes, stop for a snack at a dhaba, Maggi
noodles is always a top choice. It’s an association so strong that even
Nestle’s popular instant noodle brand created a commercial with snowy mountains
in the background, weary tourists bundled in sweaters served Maggi by friendly
locals. It’s a mouthwatering sight. Until, of course, every strand of Maggi is
consumed and the city-slickers return home.
Last year, India’s largest trekking community,
Indiahikes conducted its first-ever Himalayan Waste Audit, as part of its long
running efforts to clean up popular trekking destinations. For the past few
years, the organization has been providing all members with an Eco Bag, which
can be easily buckled around the waist, so trekkers can pick up litter along
the way. The audit headed by avid trekker and environmentalist Ori Gutin was
the latest of these efforts and the first that puts manufacturers at the center
of the mess. It covered two of the most popular Himalayan treks, Roopkund and
Hampta Pass, which are 765 kilometers apart, and in two different states. The
results weren’t shocking if you consider our love for Maggi in the mountains.
13 companies, including Parle, Mondelez, Perfetti,
Britannia, Mars, PepsiCo and Haldirams, among others, accounted for 77.5% of
waste collected. But 20.2% waste collected was from Nestle, “me
that nearly 1 out of every 5 p of identifiable trash in the Himalayas is from
Nestle” as per the report. At No 2 Parle, contributing 10.8% waste. The
report concludes “Companies have no control over how consumers use their
products. It is not the fault of Nestle, Parle, Mondelez International or
any other company for the products ending up on the most beautiful mountain range in
the world, slowly killing wildlife and vegetation, damaging waterways, and
polluting the atmosphere when burned. However, that does not mean they cannot
do something about it.”
So what can they do? The list of some
measures: Develop ste management systems in rural Himalayan villages. Hire mule drivers to collect waste from shops out in
the middle of the mountain treks. Hire people remove the mass amounts of waste
already strewn about the Himalayas. However, these companies, despite immense
resources at their disposal, haven’t exactly ed up to do any of the above, it
concludes.
Then Brand Equity spoke to Lakshmi
Selvakumaran, who heads the Green Trails Initiative t IndiaHikes, she told us one
of the easier on-ground solutions s to encourage hungry trekkers and travellers
to go for, say, egg bhurjee over Maggi. Eventually, one supposes, dhaba owners
will have no reason to keep Maggi on the menu. As people across the state of
Maharashtra scrambled to secure and protect their cloth bags following the
plastic bag ban, another notification by the state government could bring major
FMCG companies under the Extended Producers Responsibility (EPR) model. In
short, companies have to clean up after their consumers. This is what Nestle
said in an email response to a query sent by BE: “Nestlé India shares the
ambition that no plastic waste should end up discarded in the environment and
believe that with the right approach it can be collected or recycled without a
detrimental impact.” One of the approaches includes street plays. Nestle is
collaborating with industry bodies and organisations like Indian Pollution
Control Association (IPCA), NEPRA and Saahas Waste Management to conduct
education and awareness programmes, workshops and street plays for waste
pickers, waste dealers, traders and aggregator communities.
delshad.irani@timesgroup.com
ETBE 18JUL18
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