The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change on 16th February 2022 has published the Plastic Waste Management (Amendment) Rules, 2022 through which it has notified the guidelines on extended procedure responsibility for plastic packaging.
The guidelines provides framework for implementation of Extended Producer Responsibility. The Guidelines provide the roles and responsibilities of Producers, Importers, Brand Owners, Central Pollution Control Board, State Pollution Control Board or Pollution Control Committees, recyclers and waste processors for effective implementation of Extended Producer Responsibility.
The term extended procedure responsibility means the responsibility of a producer for the environmentally sound management of the product until the end of its life.
Registration of Producers, Importers & Brand-Owners (operating in one or two states) and Plastic Waste processors shall be done by State Pollution Control Board or Pollution Control Committee through the centralized Extended Producer Responsibility portal developed by Central Pollution Control Board.
Producers, Importers & Brand-Owners shall provide Action Plan containing information on the Extended Producer Responsibility Target, category-wise, where applicable, through the online centralized portal developed by Central Pollution Control Board, along with application for registration or renewal of registration under Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016. The Action Plan shall cover tenure of the Registration as per the provisions of Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016. The standard operating procedure for registration and the action plan pro forma shall be developed by Central Pollution Control Board as per these guidelines.
The Plastic waste processors shall submit annual returns after end of every financial year by 30th April of the next financial year on the quantity of plastic waste processed category-wise as per prescribed pro forma on the centralized portal developed by Central Pollution Control Board.
The total quantity of plastic waste processed by plastic waste processors and attributed to Producers, Importers & Brand-Owners, on an annual basis, will be made available on the centralized portal developed by Central Pollution Control Board as also on the website of Plastic waste processors.
