Stricter plastic management in the offing for stakeholders
NEW DELHI: Imposing a plastic generation fee, a penalty for failing to collect used plastic and a plastic credit trade mechanism are among the proposed guidelines by the Centre for brand owners, importers and manufacturers for management of plastic waste in India.
The Guideline Document Uniform Framework for Extended Producers Responsibility (EPR) by the Environment ministry calls for setting up a National Producer Responsibility Organization Advisory Committee (PROA), which will be a national authority to govern plastic waste management.
In 2019, PM Narendra Modi called for making India free of single-use plastic by 2022. India produces 9.4 million tonne of single-use plastic every year. The Environment ministry has suggested several models which can be adopted by manufacturers.
The ministry also said penalties shall be imposed on producer, importer, brand owner for the portion of waste not collected as against the targeted collection. “A single national registry for registration of all stakeholders like producers, importers, brand owners, re-cyclers, etc with allocation methods to meet individual state data requirements. The program shall promote the inclusion of waste pickers in a manner which improves their working conditions and incomes,” the document said.