In July 2026, at GCPRS 2026 in New Delhi, Ester Industries showcased a sustainability-led portfolio reflecting the company’s growing focus on polyester recycling, circular packaging solutions, and advanced material innovation. The company used the platform mainly to showcase how investments in recycling capacity, patented technologies, and future-ready infrastructure are helping the company to aid in the circular economy.
Speaking to The Packman, Vaibhav Jha, CEO of Ester Industries, said maintaining sustainability is no longer just a responsibility of a company to lower its carbon footprint, but the measure also helps to act as a strategic business direction for the company. “Our tagline is Innovating Sustainable Solutions, and that’s exactly what we are working towards,” Vaibhav said. “We are betting big on sustainability as the way forward – not only for the planet but also for businesses.”
A key highlight at the exhibition was Ester’s operational recycled PET (rPET) capacity of around 30,000 tonnes per annum, which is already supplying recycled polyester materials to help brands meet their sustainability commitments. According to him, a company’s strength is not only reflected in its production capacity but also in the quality of its recycled polymers.
“The specialty of our recycled polymers is the cleanliness of the recycled granules,” he said. “As far as we know, they are among the cleanest available in India. This gives brands greater confidence to use recycled content in larger volumes while comfortably meeting their sustainability targets.”
The company is planning to extend its capability across its film portfolio. All the polyester films showcased at GPCRS can be manufactured using recycled content, while Ester is among the few manufacturers globally capable of producing films with 100% recycled content. Along with films, the company is also manufacturing several recycled polyester-based polymers to expand the use of recycled feedstock across multiple applications.
Along with multiple innovations of the company, patented mono-material PET laminate solutions were the highlighted ones. Flexible packaging often combines multiple materials that are difficult to recycle after use. Vaibhav believes the company’s new solution addresses this long-standing challenge.
“So far, no one has been able to establish mono-material polyester films in the way we have,” he said. “Our patented ultra high heat seal solution enables brands to have laminate structures made entirely from polyester, and these can also be produced using 100% recycled content.”
He explained that the innovation helps packaging to stay within a single material family, along with improving its recyclability and maintaining functional performance. Complementing this technology is Ester’s planned investment in Elite Ester Loop Infinite Technologies, a project involving more than INR 1,000 crore. The facility is specifically designed for textile-to-textile recycling, but it is also designed to support bottle-to-bottle and laminate-to-laminate recycling, thereby strengthening polyester circularity across multiple sectors.
Explaining the concept, he said, “We will use recycled polyester to manufacture ultra-high heat seal laminate structures. After consumer use, these laminates can be collected and recycled through our elite technology back into polyester, which can again be used to manufacture the same laminate. For the first time, we will be able to demonstrate true circularity for polyester laminates.”
One of the major concerns arising in the case of recycled plastics is their suitability for food-contact applications. To its reply, he said that Ester follows a stringent traceability and quality control procedure throughout the recycling operations to ensure safety and suitability. “We carry out complete traceability of incoming raw materials,” he said. “The feedstock is thoroughly cleaned and checked to ensure it is free from contamination that could affect food-contact applications.”
He also mentioned that the company’s recycling lines are also specially certified for food-grade recycled PET production. “Our extrusion systems are certified for producing food-grade rPET, and the material that comes out is fully compliant with international food safety standards,” he said. “We also have EFSA-approved extrusion systems, which comply with FDA requirements and are certified by FSSAI. These certifications provide our customers with an additional level of confidence that our recycled materials meet stringent food-contact standards.”
Mr. Vaibhav also mentions that he can clearly observe growth opportunities in the recycling industry in the foreseeable period. According to him, demand is also driven by changing consumer preferences along with the growing, stringent regulations. “The opportunity is immense,” he said. “There is a strong regulatory push towards sustainability, but equally important is the consumer pull.”
He emphasizes that the responsibility of each company is now on developing innovative products to satisfy the regulatory requirements, along with consumer expectations. He acknowledged that cost is one of the biggest issues for companies today to maintain sustainability and use sustainable materials. The recycling industries are still in the developing stage today, hence the technologies are new, and supply chains are yet to achieve complete efficiency.
“Sustainability solutions are currently more expensive than virgin materials,” he said. “Customers naturally expect sustainable alternatives to be available at the same price as conventional materials, and I am confident that this will happen as the industry matures. But at this stage, sustainability does come at a cost.”
31 July 2026
30 July 2026
30 July 2026
30 July 2026