Plastic Waste Management Rules and EPR are now central to India’s circular-economy push. Examine the single-use plastic ban, the EPR portal and the e-waste regime.

Introduction: The Plastic Waste Management (Amendment) Rules 2022 banned 19 single-use plastic items from 1 July 2022; the CPCB EPR Portal, operationalised in 2022, covers plastic, e-waste, battery, tyre, and used oil; CPCB recorded 4.13 million tonnes of plastic waste in 2020-21, with informal recyclers handling much of the flow.

Body: First, EPR mechanics — producers register, file annual returns, and acquire EPR certificates; CPCB audits and de-registers defaulters who fail collection targets. Second, the E-Waste Rules 2022 mandate registration of producers, refurbishers, and recyclers, with 1.6 million tonnes of e-waste generated in FY22 against weak formal-sector capacity. Third, the Battery Waste Rules 2022 cover EV and consumer batteries, building circular value chains, with Swachh Bharat segregation as the upstream anchor.

Way forward: Strengthen state-level enforcement, introduce eco-modulated EPR fees, extend EPR to glass and textiles, and ratify the UN Global Plastics Treaty post-INC negotiations by 2027 under MoEFCC.