These priorities are managed through defined controls, process improvements and continuous monitoring across our manufacturing sites. By strengthening reduction, reuse, recycling and responsible disposal practices, we aim to minimise environmental impacts while supporting more resource-efficient operations. Long-term water-related risks, prioritise interventions at high-risk locations and strengthen site-level planning.
| Metric | Target 2030 | Performance in FY 2025-26 |
|---|---|---|
| Specific hazardous waste disposal (kg/KL) | 0.45 83% |
0.82 70% |
| Specific non-hazardous waste disposal (kg/KL) | 6.0 57% |
6.45 54% |
| Specific trade effluent generation (L/KL) | 15.8 81% |
17.5 79% |
| Plastic packaging collection points across cities | 500 points across 100 town/cities |
31 points across 10 town/cities |
| Proportion of recycled plastic used in packaging (%) | 60% | 40% |
Waste management
Waste management at Asian Paints is guided by continuous visibility of material flows, structured reviews and defined accountability across manufacturing operations. This enables us to identify reduction opportunities, improve segregation and strengthen reuse, recycling and responsible disposal practices.
Our approach follows the waste hierarchy, with priority given to minimising waste at source through process optimisation and efficient production practices. Where avoidance is not feasible, we pursue reuse and recycling within operations, including recirculation of wash water, recovery and reuse of solvents, and conversion of suitable residual materials into economy-grade paint. Training programmes further support safe handling, segregation and waste reduction practices at site level.
For waste streams that cannot be reused or recycled, disposal is managed through authorised channels in compliance with applicable environmental regulations. Specific hazardous waste disposal at decorative paint manufacturing units stood at 0.82 kg/KL in FY 2025-26, reflecting a 70% reduction from the FY 2013-14 baseline. The increase during the year was primarily due to additional cleaning requirements, including storage tank cleaning linked to changes in raw material formulations, which led to higher cleaning residue generation. Specific non-hazardous waste disposal stood at 6.45 kg/KL, reflecting a 54% reduction from the baseline.
Waste disposal at decorative paint manufacturing units
Specific hazardous waste disposal (kg/KL)*
FY 2013-14 2.7
Specific non-hazardous waste disposal (kg/KL)
FY 2013-14 14.1
*The indicator includes disposal of waste under Hazardous Waste Management Rules except barrels and containers which are disposed in numbers as per authorisation.
During the year, 2,136 tonnes of hazardous waste and 9,721 tonnes of non-hazardous waste from decorative paint manufacturing units were sent for disposal through authorised channels. At the standalone level, total waste sent for disposal stood at 33,597 tonnes, including 16,538 tonnes of construction and demolition waste generated from the demolition of the old head office.
Waste disposal method
| Waste category | Recycling/Reuse | Co-processing | Landfill | Incineration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Non-hazardous waste (Standalone) | 99% | 0% | 0% | 1% |
| Non-hazardous waste (Deco units) | 96% | 0% | 0% | 4% |
| Hazardous waste (Standalone) | 34% | 58% | 2% | 6% |
| Hazardous waste (Deco units) | 50% | 40% | 3% | 7% |
Wastewater management
Wastewater management across paint processing, equipment maintenance and pipeline cleaning operations is guided by two priorities: minimising generation at source and maximising recovery for reuse, in line with our Zero Liquid Discharge approach.
High-efficiency pressure cleaning systems, increased reuse of wash water in production, condensate recovery and optimised blowdown management help reduce wastewater generation from routine operations and utilities.
Wastewater that cannot be directly reused is treated through dedicated effluent treatment systems designed for process-specific contaminants. Treated water is recovered to standards suitable for reuse in process and non-process applications, supporting closed-loop water use across manufacturing sites.
Specific trade effluent generation at decorative paint manufacturing units stood at 17.5 L/KL in FY 2025-26, reflecting a 79% reduction from the FY 2013-14 baseline of 82 L/KL. The performance remains significantly below the baseline, supported by source reduction, recovery and reuse measures across operations.
Specific trade effluent generation at decorative paint manufacturing units (L/KL)
Circularity in operations
Circularity is embedded in our approach to resource efficiency and waste reduction across operations and packaging. Our efforts focus on increasing recycled material use, improving recovery of process streams, enabling responsible channelisation of post-consumer packaging and converting suitable residual materials into value-added outputs.
Recycled plastic
We continued to increase recycled plastic content in our packaging, using 25,323 tonnes in FY 2025-26, representing 36.8% of total plastic packaging. This supports our circularity approach by reducing dependence on virgin plastic and improving recycled material use in packaging.
Transition to 100% recycled HDPE packaging
As part of our efforts to increase recycled content in packaging, we transitioned plastic packaging for select SmartCare products and universal stainer to 100% recycled HDPE packaging for retail packs.
This entailed thorough supplier qualification, stringent quality controls, design optimisation, product compatibility studies, trials and validation.
The initiative enabled higher recycled-content use in packaging while maintaining product performance and functional requirements, enhancing circularity.
Plastic waste management
Collection and environmentally sound disposal of packaging waste is managed through the Extended Producer Responsibility framework. Under plastic EPR, over 8,900 MT of flexible and multi-layered plastic and 72,000 MT of rigid plastic were collected and responsibly channelised, representing fulfilment of the Company’s liability across categories. Collection and channelisation were implemented across 25 states.
Used plastic pails are also collected through designated centres and channelised for recycling, providing consumers and painters with an avenue for responsible disposal while offering monetary incentives. The programme is currently operational across 10 cities; its expansion is moderated by existing reuse practices for paint containers, which influence collection volumes.
Wash water reuse
Wash water generated from cleaning equipment and mixers is reused within production wherever feasible. In FY 2025-26, almost 41,400 tonnes of wash water was reused in products, helping reduce freshwater demand and minimise water sludge generation.
Waste solvent reuse
Recovered solvents are reused in products and for cleaning applications. In FY 2025-26, 236 tonnes of solvent were reused in products, supporting material recovery and reducing waste generation from solvent streams.
Economy-grade paint
Materials that cannot be segregated at source or reused through other recovery routes are evaluated for conversion into economy-grade paint. During the year, 2,087 tonnes of such material were sorted and reprocessed to manufacture this value-added product.
Other emissions
Air emissions management forms part of our cleaner operations approach. During the year, we continued to reduce dependence on diesel-based systems by substituting diesel-powered DG sets with gas-based alternatives and lowering boiler consumption through community steam boilers and heat recovery units.
In FY 2025-26, absolute emissions at decorative paint manufacturing units stood at 3.7 MT of SOx, 8.4 MT of NOx and 5.6 MT of particulate matter. At the standalone level, absolute emissions were 7.1 MT of SOx, 49.1 MT of NOx and 11.3 MT of particulate matter.
Other emissions at decorative paint manufacturing units (g/KL)
- SOx
- NOx
- PM