With the idea of creating a sustainable environment for the coming generations, extended producer responsibility (EPR) plays an essential role. The idea has paved its way to the very roots of recycling. EPR also helps in using discarded plastic in different ways. EPR puts the responsibility on producers and owners for safe treatment of plastic waste. This helps to make sure to not just dispose of the waste, but also use them in different ways as well. This policy is approaching the owners of big corporations to deal with post-consumer products. The policy also highlights the treatment of waste instead of just piling them in landfills.
With the new management rules related to EPR coming out, this becomes a little easier to accomplish. The government has planned everything in a structured manner with respect to the sale as well as carbon trading mechanisms. This planning by the government helps in keeping climate change under control. Compliance with the new rules has become mandatory for all producers and owners, thereby making the objective of this initiative closer to its goal.
Towards a new future
The new set of laws aim to address this issue by making compliance with EPR duties financially attractive. Any firm that obtains the Surplus EPR certificates can now carry forward. This helps to offset previous year’s lapses, or even trade and share with others. The Central Pollution Control Board proposes creating a dedicated site to handle these transactions. Equally crucial is the provision in these laws for “environmental compensation”. It acts as a form of punishment for manufacturers, importers, and brand owners of plastic material who fail to meet the EPR requirements. The revenues that this initiative generates help in plastic garbage collection, recycling, and end-of-life disposal. Therefore, everything is being taken care of to make sure that the rules are complied with, at any cost.
With single-use plastic being replaced with cloth bags and other alternatives, plastic is recycled so as to be used in different ways. The government is keeping a close tab on the waste being generated so that this issue can be tackled at the root level itself. This would mean educating people about the new rules. This also helps us to make sure that people look at other ways and they do not dispose of the plastic out in the open instead of looking . The government needs to devise appropriate incentives to entice investment in this sector. Otherwise, the goal of reducing plastic waste output and guaranteeing its safe disposal would remain elusive.