Transitioning to a circular economy for plastics in India: what role for grassroots innovation?

Abstract Plastic has become a ubiquitous material in our societies and plastic pollution is an issue of significant concern due to its environmental and health impacts. The circular economy (CE) is increasingly considered an important approach to improve plastic management. Until recently, the focus of academic research has been primarily on actions taken by businesses and policymakers to facilitate the emergence of the CE, with civil society mainly considered in its role as a consumer. As such, actions undertaken by civil society to address plastic management issues are under-researched. This paper draws on the concept of ‘grassroots innovation’ to examine initiatives targeting plastic issues in India to characterise factors of success and challenges. We conducted 13 semi-structured interviews with stakeholders involved in 15 initiatives. Using a composite framework, we characterised initiatives using six categories: context, appropriateness, governance and management, innovation, diffusion, outcomes and impacts. Our findings show that initiatives focus on three areas of innovation: alternative socio-economic settings, alternative material arrangements, and individual competences. Contextual factors (e.g. infrastructure, regulations) were often found to constrain the emergence and success of initiatives, while various forms of collaboration, stakeholder engagement and financial sustainability emerged as determining aspects of governance and management. Initiative diffusion, when it occurred, followed strategic, demand-led and participant-led scaling up patterns, as well as government-led or citizen-led replication. We conclude by identifying areas for improvement of the framework and reflecting on whether/how the initiatives studied progress the CE for plastics in India.