An Overview Of Extended Producer Responsibility For Plastic Waste Management

Introduction

India generates an estimated 25,000 to 30,000 tonnes of plastic waste every day, of which a substantial share, approximately 10,556 tonnes daily, remains uncollected and enters landfills or the open environment. To address this, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (“MoEFCC”) has notified a national Extended Producer Responsibility (“EPR”) framework for plastic packaging under the Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016, as amended from time to time¹.

For businesses, this is not a voluntary sustainability initiative. EPR registration, target compliance, and annual reporting are binding legal obligations, enforced through a mandatory CPCB-administered online portal and backed by financial penalties for shortfall². This alert sets out who must register, how the registration and compliance process works, and the practical steps in-house counsel and business owners should be taking now.