The Plastic Waste Management Rules

• Increase the minimum thickness of plastic carry bags from 40 to 50 microns, as well as the minimum thickness of plastic sheets to 50 microns, to make it easier to collect and recycle plastic waste.
• Extend the scope of applicability beyond municipal jurisdiction to rural areas, as plastic has made its way into rural areas.
• To include producers' and generators' responsibilities in the plastic waste management system, as well as to develop a collect return system for plastic garbage by producers/brand owners, as part of the extended producers' obligation.
• To collect a plastic waste management charge through pre-registration of producers, importers, and vendors selling plastic carry bags/multilayered packaging in order to build a waste management system.
• To entrust more responsibility on waste generators, such as payment of user charges as prescribed by local authorities, collection and handing over of waste by the institutional generator, and so on, for gainful utilization of waste and also to address the waste disposal issue; to entrust more responsibility on waste generators, such as payment of user charges as prescribed by local authorities, energy recovery, or waste to oil.

Producer, Brand Owner, Recycler, and Manufacturer Registration

Plastic Waste Management Registration for Producer, Brand Owner, Recycler and Manufacturer

• FORM I - Every Producer or Brand Owner must submit an application in Form I for registration or renewal of registration.
• FORM II - Anyone recycling or processing garbage, or planning to recycle or process plastic waste, must submit a Form II application to the State Pollution Control Board or the Pollution Control Committee for the grant or renewal of a recycling unit's registration.
• FORM III - Every manufacturer of plastic intended for use as a raw material by the producer must submit a Form III application to the State Pollution Control Board or the Pollution Control Committee of the Union territory concerned for the grant of registration or renewal of registration.

On March 27, 2018, the Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change published the Plastic Waste Management (Amendment) Rules 2018.

• The revised Rules state that the phase-out of Multilayered Plastic (MLP) now applies to MLP that are "non-recyclable, non-energy recoverable, or having no other use."
• The revised Rules also provide a central registration system for producers, importers, and brand owners. The Rules further require that any registration process must be automated and take into account the producers', recyclers', and manufacturers' ease of doing business. The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) will develop a centralized registration system for the registration of producers, importers, and brand owners. While a national registry is required for producers with a presence in more than two states, smaller producers/brand owners operating in one or two states must register at the state level.
• Furthermore, Rule 15 of the Plastic Waste Management (Amendment) Rules 2018, which deals with "explicit pricing of carry bags," has been omitted.

Click here to view the Full Plastic Waste Management (Amendment) Rules 2018.

The Ministry of Environment, Forestry, and Climate Change is the source of this information.