What precisely are the Plastic Waste Regulations and their amendment?
Regulations for Plastic Garbage 2016 was given the go-ahead to assure onsite plastic waste segregation, prevent recyclable garbage going into landfills, and minimise plastic waste generation nationwide. Other stakeholders’ duties, including as those of manufacturers, big consumers, street sellers, shops, urban local bodies, and state and federal pollution control boards, were also outlined in the rules. Yet, the potential of the circular economy is not being utilised effectively.
On February 16, 2022, the Union Environment Ministry published the Plastic Waste Management (Second Amendment) Rules, 2022 in light of the mandates to increase the thickness of plastic carry bags to over 120 microns starting on December 31 and phase out certain single-use plastic products starting on July 1. Guidelines for Expanded Producer Responsibility were also given (EPR).
Specifically addressed in Amendment Notification/Guidelines:
- Categorising of plastic packaging into 4 forms
- Counting/considering Pre-consumer and Post-consumer plastic packaging waste in waste stream and its recycling
- Yearly target setup for recycling and obligation of recycling for all producers, based on quantum of pre and post packaging waste
- Considering target specific (per stakeholder wise) reuse of rigid plastic packaging material
- End of life disposal via such as road construction, waste to energy, waste to oil, cement kilns (for co processing)
- Creating Market for Plastic credits: Purchase of certificate from Producers, Importers and Brand owners who have used recycled content in excess of their obligation
- Environment compensation via polluter pays principle, in case stakeholders fail to complete their targets
- Mandatory business only with registered entities under PWM Rules 2016
Understanding circular and linear economies
In a linear economy, raw resources are mined, processed into products, and then the finished goods are discarded after use. The “take-make-dispose” principle is generally followed in a linear economy. In this economic system, value is created by making and selling as many goods as possible, while raw materials are handled inefficiently because conservation is not prioritised.
Minimize waste and pollution, circulate goods and materials at their highest value, and emphasise regeneration are the three pillars of the circular economy. Waste doesn’t exist in a circular economy since goods and raw materials are (intended to be) reused again for as long and intensively as possible. The new raw material is waste.
Possibilities for the circular economy in managing plastic trash
The majority of the regions covered by the existing EPR regulations currently offer a variety of Circular Economy alternatives for managing plastic waste:
1. Waste Collection:
The first step in eliminating waste, often known as the circular economy first principle, is source segregation and separate transit. Even for mixed MSW, India’s garbage collecting system currently has a significant deficit. More than 80% of the waste that is collected is mixed rubbish, and only collection and transportation consume more than 70% of municipal budgets. Furthermore, it is neither effectively closed and divided nor is it designed into transportation vehicles to ensure segregation and separate garbage collection.
India produces close to 26,000 tonnes of plastic each day, and over 10,000 tonnes of that plastic waste goes uncollected each day, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).
Source segregation is the only practical measure that can be taken to assure higher recycling rates given EPR’s emphasis on the mandated pre- and post-consumer target package waste collection. Hence, producers now place a high focus on improved collection infrastructure. For producers, brand owners, and importers, there is therefore opportunity in building up centres and maintaining collection infrastructure.
After being consumed, many multi-layer plastic packaging products, such as Chips/Kurkure packages, have no further purpose; they cannot be recycled, reused, or composted and end up in landfills. They are made to be thrown away. These products are the outcome of design decisions. According to one research, packaging uses 43% of all plastics manufactured in India, the majority of which are single-use plastics (SUP).
Laws prohibit together with yearly recycling goals, SUP and EPR regulations compel the reuse of rigid plastic packaging waste. There is however an exemption from ERP targets if the obliged entity uses plastic packaging that is 100% biodegradable in the ambient environment, leaving no traces of microplastics, chemical residue, or any other traces that could have a negative impact on the environment or human health.
So, the biggest opportunities under the first and second principles of the circular economy, namely decrease, recirculate, and re-enter, will be in the redesign of packaging materials, alternative solutions, and reuse. Items like reusable and biodegradable packaging, as well as edible packaging, will receive a lot of attention. The product of the day will be one that can be maintained, shared, reused, mended, renovated, remanufactured, and recycled.
Technology will once again play a significant role in EPR because it also emphasises recycling through authorised recyclers and maintaining records of all downstream and upstream providers, importers, and recyclers in addition to redesigning and collecting infrastructure. Due to the varied nature of Waste, recycling is currently technologically challenging in India. Waste must be recycled into something that can extend its life after it has been collected.
Therefore, cutting-edge and environmentally friendly technologies like auto waste segregators that use AI systems to separate plastic waste into different types of plastic or by brands or that convert plastic into different products like tiles, boards, and even boulders for housing with a focus on using single use/multi-layered/packaging waste will be good opportunities. With the amount of plastic waste produced in India, other technologies with output, such as waste-to-energy (Gasifiers/Plasma Pyrolysis), bio-methanol/biooil, or co-processing units, would also be necessary.
In order to formalise the sector, EPR guidelines also include the sale and acquisition of surplus credit certificates for use as carryover or offset against prior year targets.
As a result, there will be more good opportunities for cloud-based or artificial intelligence (AI) based systems and software for auto-calculation, vendor/recycler tracking, online record keeping for environmental returns, auto identification of seller or purchasing producer databases, based on demand and supply, etc.
PWM Rules can thus serve as a solid example for shifting the market from a linear to a circular economy if they are appropriately applied.
Leave A Comment