Environmental damage: The devil is in packaging, biodegradable or otherwise

Recycling alone is not effective. It must be accompanied by a conscious effort to minimise packaging through drastic changes in the mindset of customers, manufacturers and retailers

It would be a rare week indeed that goes by without a horror story in the newspapers on environmental carnage, accompanied by distressing pictures of garbage piling up on the roads, footpaths and green areas, or choking water bodies in the metros. The growing number of incidents of fire and landslides reported from the landfills in Mumbai and Delhi has proved that the system of waste management through collection and treatment is no longer sustainable. India, being the third highest consumer in the world, the volume of waste it generates from packaging is significantly high, and needs special attention. Packaging