Pharma firms in Hyderabad get Central Pollution Control Board notice over plastic waste

Companies were to develop this plan by involving the State urban development departments, either individually or collectively.
For representational purposes
For representational purposes

HYDERABAD: The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has issued notices warning of legal action against various well-known pharmaceutical companies from Hyderabad, including Hetero Labs, Aurobindo Pharma, MSN Laboratories, Divi’s Laboratories, GVK Biosciences, SMS Pharmaceutical, Granules India and Natco Pharma, for not furnishing their plans under the Extended Producers Responsibility (EPR), as per the Plastic Waste Management (PWM) Rules, 2016.

EPR was framed to make producers, importers and brand owners take responsibility for reuse or recycling of the plastic they produce or use to pack their products so that it does not end up choking the environment. The PWM Rules, which came into effect in March 2016, granted six months-to-a-year — depending on whether it was a producer or brand owner — to develop a system to ensure the plastic waste generated, including sachets and pouches, is brought back to the recycling fold.

Companies were to develop this plan by involving the State urban development departments, either individually or collectively. Following this, two years were given to implement the plan. It’s been three years since the PWM Rules were passed, but many companies have not even prepared a plan to take back the plastic they produce.

The CPCB notice on violation of the PWM Rules put up on its website, named 52 major companies, including well-known corporations apart from the Hyderabad-based pharmaceutical firms, like Amazon Development Center, Flipkart, Patanjali Ayurved, Emami, Blackberry India, Bacardi, Carlsberg and Danone. The notice also mentioned that it applies to violators from other industrial sectors too.If the violating companies do not submit their EPR Action Plans at the earliest, action will be initiated against them under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 and the NGT Act, 2010.

Related Stories

No stories found.
The New Indian Express
www.newindianexpress.com