India plans to allow recycled plastic for food packaging

Summary

India plans to widen the use of recycled plastic in food packaging, helping food delivery platforms and consumer goods companies meet recycling targets. The proposal has strict caveats on safety standards, as the regulator seeks to balance sustainability with the risk of food contamination.

New Delhi: India is moving to allow wider use of recycled plastic in food packaging, offering food delivery platforms, consumer goods companies and packaging makers a way to meet mandatory recycling targets without compromising food safety. Under draft rules proposed by the food safety regulator, recycled plastic would have to meet the same safety standards as new plastic, with strict safeguards against chemical contamination. The move could help remove a key regulatory hurdle that has held back the use of recycled materials in food packaging.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has proposed amendments to its 2018 packaging regulations, allowing advanced chemical recycling for two widely used packaging materials -- polyethylene (commonly used in squeeze bottles, milk pouches and containers) and polypropylene (widely used in yoghurt tubs, bottle caps and snack wrappers).

Under the proposed Food Safety and Standards (Packaging) Amendment Regulations, 2026, reviewed by Mint, manufacturers can chemically break down plastic waste into its basic building blocks to make new plastic. However, the recycled material can only come into direct contact with food if its purity matches that of new plastic and meets identical safety criteria under standard IS 14534.

The regulator has also proposed the use of recycled polymers in the outermost layer of multi-layer packaging. To qualify, the material must come exclusively from food-grade waste, and the packaging must have protective inner layers that act as an impermeable barrier to stop any chemical transfer into the consumable product.

The proposed norms will help online food delivery and quick-commerce platforms such as Swiggy and Zomato, as well as cloud kitchens and FMCG packagers who rely heavily on single-use polypropylene containers, delivery bags, and multilayer food parcels to meet their mandatory plastic-recycling targets.

"Recycled polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) produced by chemical recycling process as defined in IS 14534, via the monomer route, may be used for food-contact materials, only when the output (end product) is considered equivalent to virgin material and meets the criteria applicable to virgin material," the notification said.

"Recycled polymer derived exclusively from food-grade packaging material may be used in the outermost layer of multilayer packaging material intended for food contact, provided that the inner layers possess adequate barrier properties to prevent migration of substances from the outermost layer into the food and also shall fulfil the already prescribed migration limits for packaging materials," the notification said.

Why the move

The push to expand recycled plastic usage stems from the environment ministry's mandatory extended producer responsibility (EPR) targets and revisions to the plastic waste management rules, which allowed recycled content in ready-to-eat food packs, subject to FSSAI protocols. As companies race to hit annual EPR thresholds, the absence of safe recycled polymer guidelines has emerged as a key regulatory hurdle for FMCG giants and packaging converters.

While FSSAI initially restricted recycled content exclusively to food-grade recycled polyethylene terephthalate (rPET) under strict super-clean decontamination guidelines, the regulator is progressively widening permissions to include PE and PP to help consumer brands meet recycled content quotas without compromising food hygiene.

Recycling norms bridge a critical gap for circular economy, say experts.

"Earlier, an enabling provision was missing, which led to a complete ban on recycled plastic. With recycling technology evolving, permitting recycled plastic in packaging is a welcome step, provided it adheres to strict food safety standards," said Pawan Agarwal, former chief executive officer of FSSAI. "While the outer layers can use recycled material, the layer directly in contact with food must be rigorously scrutinized to prevent chemical or heavy metal migration. Without clear food-grade recycling norms, industry lacked incentives to collect and process waste. Enabling safe recycled plastics in packaging gives the sector a viable pathway, aligning waste management with uncompromised public health safeguards."

This regulatory shift assumes significance for India's expanding food packaging sector. According to data from the Indian Institute of Packaging (IIP), the domestic food packaging market is valued at $15 billion, accounting for over 50% of the country's broader packaging industry, driven by rising consumption of processed items, beverage demand, and the quick-commerce boom.

The regulator has given stakeholders 60 days to send in comments on the draft. Queries emailed to FSSAI, Swiggy, Zomato remained unanswered until press time.

Is it good enough?

As the food safety regulator looks to balance India's packaging requirements with safety concerns, some industry experts urged for a step further--a shift to compostable paper over hard-to-recycle multilayers for higher safety.

"FSSAI is right to hold recycled PE and PP to virgin plastic standards; that is the only acceptable bar near food. But recycling multi-layer packaging does not close the loop. At best, it gives plastic one lower-grade life before it returns to the waste stream, where most multi-layer packs end up burnt in cement kilns," said Ved Krishna, managing director of Pakka Ltd, an Uttra Pradesh-based regenerative packaging maker specializing in food packaging. "The draft allows a recycled layer inside another multi-layer pack, which almost nobody recycles, merely shifting the problem. FSSAI took a better route by mandating plastic-free pan masala packs. For many dry foods, soil-biodegradable paper can already work. That thinking should expand to more food categories."

India generates over 4.1 million tonnes of plastic waste annually, according to Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data. About 60% of this is recycled, and the unrecyclable multi-layer packaging is mostly incinerated in cement kilns.

The US FDA and European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) clear recycled food-contact plastic only through case-by-case authorized processes. Both enforce strict functional-barrier and migration limits to block chemical leaching, matching the criteria in FSSAI's proposed norms.