Indian street food vendors and plastic waste

Ahead of the recent INC-3 in Nairobi, street food vendors called out FMCGs for failing to meet their own plastic reduction targets, and asked the government of India to support an effective Global Plastics Treaty to lead the country out of the plastics crisis. The third session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment (INC-3) took place from 13 to 19 November 2023 at the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya.

As governments, industry, academia, civil society and scientists gathered in Nairobi, Kenya for the Third Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee for a Global Plastics Treaty, a new study shows informal street vendors in India make a compelling business case for reuse systems to significantly reduce all plastic production in order to stop plastic pollution of every kind, not just single-use plastics.

It is said that street food vendors provide approximately 600 million meals daily across the country. They directly face the hazards of climate change everyday, and clearly understand the role of plastics in the triple threats of climate, biodiversity, and pollution. It should be added that street food vendors in India substantially use plates made of leave and plants as well as paper plates and spoons and forks made from forest products as well as reusable plastic plates.

The study by Zero Waste Europe, Searious Business, and National Hawker Federation (NHF) found that, in Kolkata alone, transitioning about 80,000 street food vendors to a reusable system, would reduce plastic waste by more than 86%; create more than 2,250 jobs; and give a return on investment of 21% within a payback period of 2.3 years. In Delhi, the transition of 99,000 street food vendors to a reusable system is even more economically favorable, thanks to the economies of scale. A quick look at the study reveals a fairly comprehensive examination of the street food industry and cost benefit analyses across five Indian cities.

The National Hawker Federation is a federation of street vendor unions across 28 states in India, comprising over 1,300 unions, including 11 central trade unions and more than 20 international trade unions. NHF champions the rights of street vendors and played a key role in the passage of the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014. www.nhfindia.co.in

Single-use plastic consumption has exploded in recent years, creating a global crisis that impacts nature, people, and the climate. Over 99% of plastics are made of fossil fuels, and it is often said that if the plastic industry was a country, it would be the world’s fifth largest greenhouse gas emitter. There are more than 16,000 chemicals used in plastics with 25% classified as hazardous, with one estimate that the lifetime cost of plastic produced in 2019 alone is US$ 3.7 trillion, or more than the GDP of India in 2022. Additionally, no plastic can be classified as safe.

The National Hawker Foundation demanded a just transition for street vendors from single-use plastics to reuse systems. It also urged the Indian delegation at INC3 to join other progressive delegations, scientists, and civil society organisations in calling for a Global Plastics Treaty that establishes strong production controls. These controls need to be legally binding; time-bound; and set ambitious targets and system guidelines to implement reuse and refill to accelerate the transition away from single-use plastics; and actions a just transition to safer and more sustainable livelihoods for workers and communities across the plastics supply chain. A series of single use plastic products have already been banned by the Government of India as of 1 July 2023.

Mecanzy Dabre, deputy general secretary of the NHF said, “By the industry’s own estimates India’s single-use plastic ban targets only 2 – 3% of total plastic produced. The ban conspicuously excludes plastic packaging used by FMCGs, such as sachets and other multilayered packaging, which accounts for about 50% of the problem. . . If street vendors can transition all their internal operations to reusables, the plastic waste still generated would be due to packaging choices made by FMCGs,” he added.

Reuse systems could reverse the harmful throwaway culture that has plagued our society for decades. Reuse systems have the unique opportunity to lead to public health benefits, as well as economic, social and climate justice. Street vendors in India provide more than 600 million affordable, nutritious meals everyday. They can steward in large-scale reuse practices with the support of the government. Reuse in street vending would provide city and state governments new ways of serving the public and innovative business models, ushering in a meaningful just transition for workers across the plastic lifespan.

Satyarupa Shekhar, an independent plastics activist, pointed to the glaring mismatch between the pledges made by the world’s top plastic polluters and their actions. “‘The Global Commitment Five Years In: Perspective On Progress and 2023 Progress report show how FMCGs have failed to bring down virgin plastic use meaningfully, making little to no progress to expand reuse.” She added, “Unilever and Nestle repeatedly say that reuse is economically prohibitive, but we now have Indian street vendors make the best business case for large scale reuse systems – at a fraction of the marketing budgets of these FMCGs!”