In a major relief for domestic enterprises, the government of India has proposed to exempt micro and small units from Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) liability obligations for plastic scrap collections. The government has requested comments from industry stakeholders and the common public over the course of two months to assess the potential impact of the EPR exemption for micro and small units. After assessing comments, the government is expected to final notification by the end of the current year. The EPR exemption is expected to revitalize the units that survived the pandemic and breathe new life into previously closed and economically unviable projects.
This amendment indicates the exemption of micro and small enterprises from EPR obligations. The Ministry believes that small and micro enterprises lack adequate infrastructure and financial capability to focus on the post-use collection of packaged plastic materials, which remains mandatory under the EPR obligation. According to the amended notification, the responsibility of post-use collection of packaged plastic materials will now rest with the primary polymer manufacturers or importers, irrespective of their category, instead of small and micro enterprises as before They will work in coordination with the large and medium producers in the industry.
A draft amendment notification from India’s Union Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change (MoEF&CC), issued on Monday, states that the extended producer responsibility (EPR) shall be fulfilled by the manufacturer or importer of plastic raw material who has supplied the plastic raw material to micro and small producers. The EPR target, categorized by the manufacturer or importer of plastic raw material, will be based on the quantity of plastic raw material sold to micro and small producers, with sales invoices authenticated by the manufacturer or importer on the centralized online portal.”
| Minimum level of recycling - Extended Producer Responsibility target (%) |
| Plastic packaging category | 2024-25 | 2025-26 | 2026-27 | 2027-28 onwards |
| Category I | 50 | 60 | 70 | 80 |
| Category II | 30 | 40 | 50 | 60 |
| Category III | 30 | 40 | 50 | 60 |
| Category IV | 50 | 60 | 70 | 80 |
Source: Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
Furthermore, the amended notification redefines manufacturers’ use of plastic as a raw material. Manufacturers are now restricted from selling, providing, or arranging for plastic to be used as raw material for a producer. Additionally, the government has introduced a new category to accommodate biodegradable plastics for use in the packaging industry.
Deepak Ballani, Director General of the premier industry body All India Plastics Manufacturers Association (AIPMA), stated, “This is a major relief for the industry, as a significant number of the value chain players were impacted by the earlier mandatory EPR law.” It is worth mentioning that AIPMA spearheaded the representations to the government about the negative impact of the mandatory EPR obligation on micro and small enterprises. A Pune-based senior industry official believed that it was very difficult for micro and small enterprises to adhere to such a stringent compliance law.
However, the relief to micro and small enterprises comes at a cost. They are required to mandatorily register with the EPR portal developed by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). The amended draft notification doesn’t provide any relief on mandatory registration. Now, every person engaged in recycling or processing plastic waste shall have to prepare and submit an annual report to the local body concerned under intimation to the concerned State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) or Pollution Control Committee (PCC) through the online reporting module developed by CPCB.
| Extended Producers Responsibility (EPR) status for registered Produces, Importers and Brand Owners (PIBOs) (tonnes) |
| Categories | EPR targets | Average plastic waste generated in FY 2021-22 and FY 2022-23 | Plastic raw materials procured in FY 2021-22 and FY 2022-23 |
| Category I – rigid plastic | 282,028 | 1,083,179 | 40,148 |
| Category II – Flexible plastic | 927,249 | 1,853,419 | 108,186 |
| Category III – Multi-layered plastic | 39,491 | 453,601 | 231,727 |
| Category IV – Compostable plastic | 8,822 | 5,416 | 0 |
| Total | 1,257,591 | 3,395,616 | 380,061 |
Source: Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change
Deepak Lawale, Secretary General of the Organization of Plastics Processors of India (OPPI), said, “Micro and small producers, as per Udayam Aadhar, are exempted from EPR liability obligation partly. Polymer manufacturers /importers will now take the responsibility and credit liability of EPR instead of small and micro-producers. Additionally, municipal agencies - Urban Local Bodies and Producers, Importers & Brand-Owners (PIBO) will have to share reports with the central government under the amended guidelines. Furthermore, producers will have to disclose the percentage of recycled materials used in products under the new guidelines.”
Meanwhile, the amendment in the Plastic Waste Management (PWM) Rule 2023 mandates printing of the cautionary statement on every packaging bag of plastic raw material as, ‘not to be used in the manufacture of single-use plastic (SUP) items prohibited under PWM Rules including plastic sheets < 50 microns in thickness, non-woven carry bags < 60 grams per square meter (GSM), carry bags < 120 microns in thickness.’
| Producer, Importer, and Brand Owner’s application status (Nos) | Plastic Waste Processing |
| Particulars | Producer | Importer | Brand owner |
| In process | 638 | 1,754 | 223 | 160 |
| Not approved | 359 | 365 | 89 | 327 |
| Registered | 3,495 | 24,456 | 2162 | 2,250 |
| Total | 4,492 | 26,575 | 2,474 | 2,737 |
Source: Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change
Every person engaged in selling plastic raw material or an intermediate material used for the manufacture of plastic packaging to the producer shall make an application to the concerned State Pollution Control Board or the Pollution Control Committee of the Union Territory concerned, for the grant of one-time registration, in the Form prescribed by CPCB for the purpose through Centralized online portal, as stated in the notification.
The revised guidelines also specify the thickness of carry bags or sachets. The provision of thickness shall not be applicable to carry bags, sachets used for storing, packing, or selling gutkha, tobacco, and pan masala, and commodities banned, made up of compostable plastic and biodegradable plastics. Carry bags and commodities made from compostable plastics shall conform to the minimum industry standard as specified by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) specifications for compostable plastics. The manufacturers of compostable plastic and biodegradable plastic carry bags and/or commodities permitted by the government shall be required to obtain a certificate from the Central Pollution Control Board before marketing or selling.
DILIP KUMAR JHA
Editor
dilip.jha@polymerupdate.com
