Mr Shyam Sunder Sharma, Chairman of BSE listed Ganesha Ecosphere Ltd (GESL) was the first Indian company to set up a recycled polyester staple fibre (rPET Fibre) plant in 1994 at Kanpur. Since inception the company has continued to expand capacity and diversify in to new end products.
The first plant which converted waste PET bottles in to rPET fibres began with a small capacity of just 4,200 tons per annum. From humble beginnings and in the past 30 years, production capacity of rPET fibre has now reached 109,200 tons per year.
Additionally, the company also manufactures rPET spun yarn which has an annual installed capacity of 7,200 tons per annum, dyed textured yarn 3,000 tons, rPET granules 42,000 tons, B2F chips/filament yarns 12,240 tons, PPSF 10,800 tons and washed flakes 12,000 tons per year.
The total installed capacity of all these products currently totals 196,440 tons per year and GESL now has 500+ product variants across different and various end user segments. The company has production facilities at several locations in India which include Kanpur, Rudrapur, Bilaspur, Temra, Warangal and also Nepal.
“When we started, there was no awareness about rPET fibres among Indian yarn manufacturers. The biggest challenge before us was to educate and convince customers. It took us nearly 10 years to fully utilise the full capacity of our first plant, before beginning first expansion project in 2006 followed by more expansions at Kanpur, Rudrapur, Temra and Warangal,” Mr BP Sultania, Joint President, Ganesha Ecosphere Ltd said.
There is no formal or controlled PET bottle waste collection system in India, but is handled by PET bottle bailors and aggregators, who buy PET bottle waste collected by rag pickers etc. GESL has a well-organised PET waste collection system spread across India. It also has its own collection centers and the waste PET bottles are supplied by around 500 bailors and aggregators
“India is successfully collecting and recycling around 90 percent of the total post-consumer PET bottle waste and turnover of the PET recycling industry reached round $950 million in 2023, growing at an annual rate of 9 to 10 percent,” Mr Sultania added.
The core product of GESL is rPET fibre and supplies it in a wide range of between 1 denier to 70 deniers in different cut lengths and which is mainly consumed in yarn spinning; used as filling for pillows and mattresses; and also for producing nonwoven fabrics.
GESL also has to its credit of launching specialty rPET fibres like Anti-Microbial fibre, Flame Retardant fibre and Coolfast fibre, which has a unique combination of superior airflow and moisture wicking properties. It also manufactures recycled Short Cut fibre for reinforcing and making strong, wall papers, air filters, batteries and cement sheets.
The company also supplies Biodegradable fibre, which is primarily used in single use wipes and diapers. “The single use wipes and diapers made with our Biodegradable fibre, fully degrade in just one year, and help the waste return the organic components back to earth,” Mr Sultania informed.
On the sustainability front, GESL has bagged a Global Recycling Certificate issued by the Control Union, which confirms that its rPET fibres are 100 percent recycled. For its Dope Dyed fibres and yarns, the company obtains ZHDC certificate from its textile dyes suppliers.
The company is also very active on the circularity front. One example is B2B chips. PET bottles are manufactured from virgin bottle grade chips. After these PET bottles are discarded, they are again recycled into bottle grade flakes and chips, which are again used to produce PET bottles.
GESL sells 85 percent of its rPET fibres in the domestic market with the rest exported to various countries like the US, UK, Spain, Germany, Portugal, Poland, Italy, Nepal, Turkey, etc.
On a question as to why GESL rPET fibre should be chosen over those of its competitors, Mr Sultania remarked that till 2006, there were just three rPET fibre manufacturers in India. This number has now touched 45 rPET fibre producers. So, although the combined Indian rPET capacity has reached one million tons or half of overall Indian PSF production capacity, GESL has also continued to increase its capacity while also holding on to its 15-16 percent rPET fibre market share in India.
“Consumption of rPET fibres has grown steadily and we expect the same in future too, due to growing consumer awareness on using sustainable products. This increased awareness has led to several global clothing brands like C&A, Target, H&M and more offering apparels which have been produced using rPET fibres,” Mr Sultania observed on opportunities arising in the future.
Mr Sultania further said that consumption of nonwovens fabrics is increasing significantly with each passing year with applications too growing and rPET fibre consumption too will continue to rise in the nonwovens sector.
He also spoke about opportunities arising from the European Union (EU), which has introduced a new regulation which stipulates that textiles or clothing sold in the EU should have a longer end of life period and to a greater extent be manufactured from rPET fibres.
“India has also introduced a regulation, which mandates packaging units to use minimum 30 percent recycled chips from 2025. This new regulation offers us a very good opportunity to grow our rPET bottle grade chips segment. As part of this directive, a high proportion of our rPET bottle grade chips capacity is now supplied to Coco-Cola India,” Mr Sultania noted.
GESL is currently amongst the top 15 rPET fibres manufacturers in the world and is aiming to turn into the biggest rPET fibre producer globally. Side-by-side, the company will also continue to maintain its leadership position in India, while also growing exports of rPET fibres.
