Starting now, recycled PET bottles can officially be used to package food in India.
Recycled plastic was never allowed for food use in India before.
The concern was contamination, chemicals or bacteria from the plastic’s previous life could leach into food or water. But that changes now.
Under the new Food Packaging Regulations by FSSAI, India has finally approved standards that make recycled PET safe for direct food contact, just like the U.S. and Europe.
Now, even our water bottle or cold drink could soon be made from recycled plastic: legally and safely, giving plastic a second life, without hurting the planet or food safety.
And now, for the first time ever, India has made this officially legal and binding (under the new Food Packaging Rules from FSSAI)
Here’s the traction already:
🛠 Capacity: We already recycle 4 lakh tonnes of PET/year
🏭 Big brands like PepsiCo’s bottler are building new plants
👷♀ Impact: Will create 10,000+ new jobs
By 2030, India aims to reach 1.1 million tonnes of recycling capacity, nearly 3× of today.
If we can make this work for PET, imagine the potential for PE and PP → plastics used far more widely in packaging and everyday use.
That’s a multi-billion dollar circular economy opportunity, a holistic change of structure + supply chain + scale.
Maybe progress isn’t about starting over but restoring what we once discarded, with better intent.