The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has reiterated the Implementation of EPR Guidelines for Plastic Packaging & Ban on SUP Items. The CPCB wishes to reiterate the gist of the directions that were previously issued by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC).
The main aspects reiterated are as follows:
- Registration requirement of Micro and Small Brand Owners (BO) and Producers (P): Micro and Small BOs are exempted from EPR obligations and do not have to register on the Centralised EPR Portal. However, Micro and Small Producers who manufacture plastic packaging are covered under EPR obligations and must register on the portal.
- Restrictions on Transactions with Obligated Entities: Entities covered under the EPR Guidelines must not deal with any entities not registered on the EPR Portal. The restriction on transactions does not apply to other stakeholders in the supply chain such as traders and user industry.
- Plastic Waste Processors (PWPs) processing non-packaging plastic waste: Only PWPs who process plastic packaging waste are required to register on the Portal. Those that process non-packaging plastic waste are not required to register on the Portal. However, PWPs processing mixed waste that is a combination of these two wastes will have to register on the portal and provide data for both these categories.
- Assessment of EPR Target for MLP Packaging: EPR target for Multi-Layer Packaging (MLP) will be on the basis of total weight of plastic content.
- Applicability of Restriction on thickness of plastic sheets: The restriction of 50 microns thickness is not applicable to plastic sheets that are an integral part of MLP.
