Environment and climate change consulting company Climeto has registered and obtained accreditation for a voluntary plastic credit project in India.

The project, accredited both in India and Nigeria, allows companies and organisations to earn credits for every ton of plastic waste they prevent from entering the environment through proper collection and recycling.

These credits are then sold at a rate of $500 per credit. Companies that purchase the credits can offset their plastic footprint and work towards becoming plastic-neutral.

The accreditation process involves rigorous assessments, third-party validation and verification and adherence to stringent criteria set out by global standards bodies to ensure transparency and accountability in the management and issuance of plastic credits.

Non-profit PCX Solutions led the setting of standards for this project. The company operates 29 projects across seven countries, offering a combined potential clean-up capacity of 250,000 tonnes.

Climeto believes that plastic credits should work alongside, or enhance, extended producer responsibility regulation, which is driving significant recycling advancements in India.

Climeto directors Keshav Bhootda and Devesh Malu jointly commented: “This achievement underscores our commitment to environmental stewardship and our mission to drive tangible change in how we manage plastic waste globally.”

According to a report by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, India’s population of 1.4bn people generates 26,000 tonnes of plastic waste every day.