Vital COG: Segregation is key to the management of plastic waste | Photo credit: D. Talukdar
April 1 was the deadline, but several manufacturers that use food grade plastic containers are still running to fulfill the mandate of responsibility of the Government Producer (EPR) (EPR) of including the PET or RPET content recycled 30 percent in the packaging of products. This will take time since there are not enough RPET manufacturers in the country, and many still need the food security regulator approach to their product.
Meanwhile, industry and recycling say that another EPR mandate, purchase of credit certificates for plastic, is gaining impulse. According to the fourth amendment to the plastic waste management rules, 2022, producers, importers and brand owners (Pibo) must fulfill their EPR obligations by processing their plastic packaging waste through reuse, recycling or the search for a medium for its final life. They can choose to buy Credit Certificates of EPR of plastic of registered waste processors that have recycled or willing or an equal amount of plastic waste. These would be reflected in the Centralized EPR portal of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).
According to recyclers, the practice of buying EPR credit certificates for plastic has realized pibos, since new companies have intervened to be Asier for them to execute their obligation. Ecoex has established a digital market that connects pibos with plastic aggregators and recycler. On the platform, registered bulk waste generators can negotiate the amount and value with the recyclers listed, allowing both parties to reach a viable price. With a residue plastic kg that constitutes a loan, the price of credits varies from one state to another, depending on the logistics involved. The nature of the plastic also plays a role in the price. In general, there are three categories of plastic of rigid, flexible and multicapa plastic (MLP). While rigid obtains ₹ 2 per kg, flexible obtains ₹ 2–3 and mlp ₹ 3–5.
Nimit Aggarwal, founder of Ecoex, says that its platform has so far the EPR credit certifications of 10 LAKH tons of 10 Lakh for plastic customers to 500. Around 3000 recyclers appear on the platform. Ecoex provides waste management agreements (WMA) and other shipping documents, ensuring transparency and traceability for audit purposes. Since many pibos of axis 44,659 are currently registered on the CPCB plastic waste portal.
The ECOEX platform also generates annual reports, as well as action plans for Pibo and uses blockchain technology for the verification of documents for compliance requirements.
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EPR credit certificates are different from carbon credits, which can be negotiated and considered misused to be misused, including the exaggeration of emission issuance, the issuance of false credits and misuse as a proxy for climatic action.
“The EPR credit certificates for compliance with plastic and cannot be negotiated,” says Aggarwal, adding that the safeguards against fraud were adjusting regularly. CPCB guidelines insist that plastic waste processors carry an electronic GST invocation valid to generate an EPR certificate in the EPR portal for plastic packaging. This electronic investment must contain a lot of details, including the buyer’s GST number, the GST number of the seller, the transaction date, the amount of the invoice and the QR code. Bears, only signed copies or an electronic GST invocation can be loaded. This has reduced illegal duplicate paper trade cases.
In fact, the compliance requirement has forced large companies to reserve funds for EPR in their balance sheets, says Aggarwal. This, feels, the waste management scenario will slowly change.
The plastic is an important taxpayer to the solid residues (RSW) in the world: almost one million tons of plastic waste is generated per day. A CPCB study in 2018 estimated that India generates up to 25,940 tons of plastic waste per day, or that 94 percent comprises thermoplastic such as PET, LDPE, HDPE, PVC and others, which is recyclable. The rest is part of the thermosé and other categories of plastics such as SMC, FRP, multicapa, thermocol and others, which are not recyclable. According to industry sources, the volume of EPR credit certificates for plastics bought and sold through the CPCB portal each year is around 43 million tons.
Plastic bears, electronic waste and battery waste are also covered by strict EPR guidelines. It is soon expected that textiles, steel and paper segments are under the EPR Amit. This means that EPR companies such as Ecoex and other players will have full hands in the coming years.
When it comes to EPR credit certificates, the biggest challenge is in waste collection, multiple special layers such as chip packages ending in mounds not segated in landfills. These must be segregated for cement coprocessing and other plants. This is a job that only undertake the army of disorganized rags in India. Agarwal agrees that waste management faces many challenges and needs to be done much more, but emphasizes that we go in the right direction.
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Posted on April 13, 2025