Centre announces plastic waste recycling targets

Why in news?

• The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has issued draft rules that mandate producers of plastic packaging material to collect all of their produce by 2024 and ensure that a minimum percentage of it be recycled as well as used in subsequent supply.

Mandates under the rule:

• Producers of plastic will be obliged to declare to the government, via a centralised website, how much plastic they produce annually.
• Companies will have to collect at least 35% of the target in 2021-22, 70% by 2022-23 and 100% by 2024.

• In 2024, a minimum 50% of their rigid plastic (category 1) will have to be recycled as will 30% of their category 2 and 3 plastic.
• Every year will see progressively higher targets and after 2026-27, 80% of their category 1 and 60% of the other two categories will need to be recycled.
• There are similar targets, with slight variations, for companies that use packaging material as well as import them.
• Only a fraction of plastic that cannot be recycled — such as multi-layered multi-material plastics — will be eligible to be sent for end-of-life disposal such as road construction, waste to energy, waste to oil and cement kilns, and here too, only methods prescribed by the Central Pollution Control Board will be permitted for their disposal.
• If entities cannot fulfil their obligations, they will on a “case by case basis” be permitted to buy certificates making up for their shortfall from organisations that have used recycled content in excess of their obligation.
• The CPCB will develop a “mechanism” for such exchanges on a centralized online portal.
• Non-compliance, however, will not invite a traditional fine. Instead an “environmental compensation” will be levied, though the rules do not specify how much this compensation will be.
• Funds collected in this way will be put in an escrow account and can be used in collection and recycling/end of life disposal of uncollected and non-recycled/ non-end of life disposal of plastic packaging waste

Need for such a rule:

• As of 2019, about 660,787.85 tonnes of plastic waste is produced in India annually, of which around 60% is reportedly recycled. Nearly 43% is packaging material and most are single use plastic.

PRACTICE QUESTION

Plastic Waste Management Rules are issued by which of the following ministry?

(a) Ministry of Panchayati Raj

(b) Ministry of Science and Technology

(c) Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC)

(d) Ministry of Health and Family Welfare

Answer