Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board: Extended Producers Responsibility registration yet to gain pace
Supriya Sahu, secretary of environment, climate change and forest department, said that as many as 802 registrations have been done in Tamil Nadu under EPR norms.
Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board
CHENNAI: Despite the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) has been instructing the plastic producers, brand owners, importers and others to register under Extended Producers Responsibility (EPR) rules for the last 2 years, only around 800 such firms have registered in the EPR portal.
Supriya Sahu, secretary of environment, climate change and forest department, said that as many as 802 registrations have been done in Tamil Nadu under EPR norms.
Of the total registrations, only 54 firms are brand owners and 119 are plastic waste processors.
Acknowledging the low number of registrations, Supriya Sahu added that the TNPCB is taking measures to increase the number of registrations.
As per the EPR guidelines notified by the central government, plastic producers, importers, brand owners and plastic waste processors should register on the EPR portal developed by Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).
Also, EPR registration is mandated for tyre waste, battery waste, electronic waste apart from the plastic waste.
Under the EPR, producers,
importers and brand owners should accept their packaging waste or end-of-life items for recycling.
A few days ago, the TNPCB directed the producers, importers, brand owners and plastic waste processors to submit their application through the EPR portal on or before May 31.
The board warned of action under Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 against the firms that fail to apply before the deadline.
To expedite the transition to a circular economy, the central government has identified 11 focus areas and formed 11 committees to prepare comprehensive action plans for transitioning from linear to circular economy.
The focus areas include municipal solid waste and liquid waste, scrap metal, electronic waste, Lithium ion batteries, Solar Panels, Gypsum, Toxic and hazardous waste, Used Oil waste, Agriculture waste, Tyre and Rubber Recycling waste, and End of Life Vehicles (ELV) waste.
Meanwhile, around 30,000 EPR registrations have been made across the country.
On the occasion of World Environment Day (June 5), TNPCB conducted a stakeholders workshop on guidelines and implementation of EPR for tyre waste, used oil, e-waste, battery waste and plastic waste.