The Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change announced the Plastic Waste Management (Amendment) Rules, 2022, which notified the instructions on extended process responsibility for plastic packaging. The recommendations lay out a framework for putting Extended Producer Responsibility into action. Producers, importers, brand owners, the Central Pollution Control Board, State Pollution Control Boards or Pollution Control Committees, recyclers, and waste processors all have roles and responsibilities under the Extended Producer Responsibility Guidelines. The term “extended procedure responsibility” refers to a manufacturer’s responsibility for the environmentally sound management of a product until it reaches the end of its useful life.
State Pollution Control Boards or Pollution Control Committees will register Producers, Importers & Brand-Owners (operating in one or two states), and Plastic Waste Processors through the centralised Extended Producer Responsibility site designed by the Central Pollution Control Board.
Plastic waste processors must submit annual returns on the quantity of plastic waste processed category-wise as per prescribed pro forma on the centralised portal designed by the Central Pollution Control Board after the end of each financial year by 30th April of the next financial year. On an annual basis, the total amount of plastic waste processed by plastic waste processors and attributed to Producers, Importers, and Brand-Owners will be made available on the centralised portal developed by the Central Pollution Control Board, as well as on the websites of the plastic waste processors.