Next step: Linked Bottle Caps? India Hard Plastic Packaging EPR Target Achieves 76% Completion Rate

Recently, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) of India released the latest data showing the hard plastic of India.The overall goal of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) has only been achieved at 76%.‌。

The EPR framework was implemented as part of the Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016. Under this framework, Producers, Importers, and Brand Owners (PIBOs) are required to manage their plastic packaging waste through recycling, reuse, or appropriate end-of-life disposal methods, which may include co-processing, waste-to-energy, plastic-to-oil, road construction, industrial composting, and other such measures. According to data submitted by the CPCB to the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in a case concerning pollution caused by the widespread use of plastic caps on packaged drinking water and beverage bottles.

In February this year, the National Green Court filed a case concerning the pollution problem caused by the extensive use of plastic bottle caps on packaged drinking water and beverage bottles. Subsequently, it requested the CPCB and several fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies to submit their respective responses to the case. The applicant expressed concerns about the plastic pollution caused by the widespread use of plastic bottle caps on packaged drinking water and beverage bottles, pointing out that although all plastic bottles are currently recyclable, detachable plastic bottle caps cannot be recycled together with the bottles, resulting in environmental pollution. The applicant stated that other countries fix the plastic bottle caps to the bottle body to ensure that the caps can be recycled together with the bottles, a design known as "attached bottle caps."

As a statutory body under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change of India, the CPCB clearly states that plastic bottles and their caps are essentially rigid plastics and have been included in the regulatory scope of the first category of "rigid plastic packaging" under the Plastic Waste Management Rules.

According to the CPCB, since 2022, 58,174 producers, importers and brand owners (PIBOs), as well as 3,040 plastic waste processors (PWPs), have registered on the national EPR registration portal. The CPCB stated: “From FY 2022 to FY 2025, the overall EPR target for Category I (rigid plastic packaging) was 5.867 million tonnes, of which 4.464 million tonnes has been achieved, with a compliance rate of approximately 76%. Target filing for FY 2025–26 is currently underway.”

According to CPCB data, the EPR target for rigid plastic packaging was 0.905 million tonnes in FY 2022–23, with 0.847 million tonnes actually fulfilled; the target for FY 2023–24 was 2.022 million tonnes, with 1.851 million tonnes fulfilled; and the target for FY 2024–25 was 2.94 million tonnes, with 1.766 million tonnes actually fulfilled.