Status of Extended Producer’s Responsibility for plastic waste

PIB Delhi – The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has notified the Guidelines on the Extended Producer Responsibility(EPR) for Plastic Packaging vide Plastic Waste Management Amendment Rules, 2022, on 16^th February, 2022. Three hundred and eleven brand owners and four producers have been issued registration till date by Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), as per Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016. The list is available on the website of CPCB. The registered entities have an EPR target of 7.5 lakhs tonnes per annum. As per available data, approximately 15.8 lakh TPA of plastic waste is recycled and 1.67 lakh TPA is co-processed in cement kilns in 20 States.

As per the Guidelines on the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) on plastic packaging, the Central Pollution Control Board by itself or through a designated agency shall verify compliance of Producers, Importers & Brand-Owners and Plastic Waste Processors through inspection and periodic audit, as deemed appropriate. In case of Producers, Importers & Brand-Owners and Plastic Waste Processors operating in a State or Union Territory, Central Pollution Control Board may, if required, direct State Pollution Control Board or Pollution Control Committee to take action. This information was given by Ashwini Kumar Choubey, Minister of State, Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change in Rajya Sabha today.