New Delhi, March 16 (IANS) Industry body Association of PET Recyclers (APR) Bharat on Monday welcomed FSSAI’s grant of final authorisations to 17 recycled PET manufacturing plants, which will strengthen India’s packaging supply chain.

The government’s move will unlock about 3 lakh tonne per annum of food‑grade r‑PET capacity to help meet the government’s mandate of 40 per cent recycled content by 2026‑27, the statement from APR Bharat said.

The approvals create a combined FSSAI-authorised capacity to produce 3 lakh metric tonnes of r-PET a year to supply food‑contact packaging for India’s beverage and bottling industry, the statement added.

The association noted the move comes at an opportune moment when virgin PET markets face global pressures amid the Iran‑Israel war and geopolitical uncertainty.

The move also aligns with the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of building a circular economy, said Goutham Jain, Director General, APR Bharat.

Plastic waste Management Rules 2016 mandated the use of 30 per cent recycled content in rigid plastic packaging effective from 2025-26 with gradual increase of 10 per cent every year until 60 per cent in 2028-29 and onwards.

The industry body highlighted that aligned with this mandate, 15–18 food‑grade r‑PET recycling facilities were established across the country at an estimated investment of Rs 9,000–10,000 crore.

These companies have adopted state-of-art technology and set up their factories adhering to standards approved by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) had, in September 2021, allowed use of r-PET as a food contact material. In June 2025, the ministry allowed brands and producers to carry forward shortfalls in meeting the 30 per cent r-PET target for food contact applications for 2025-26 over the next three years.

—IANS

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