What Do We Mean By Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Compliance?
Many countries are now implementing Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) as a way to organize waste management.
Indeed, the idea stands for a waste management system that is both safe and environmentally sustainable. The end-user (consumers, governments, or businesses) is no longer solely responsible for waste;
What is Extended Producer Responsibility?
EPR is a term for “Extended Producers Responsibility.” Extended producer responsibility (EPR) is a policy method in which producers take responsibility for the organization of the disposal of products they create or produce when such products are designated as no longer useful by consumers,
Thomas Lindhqvist was the first to introduce the idea of EPR in 1990. EPR is a term that has been described as
“An environmental protection strategy to achieve an environmental goal of a reduced overall environmental impact of a product by making the product’s manufacturer responsible for the product’s entire life-cycle, especially for take-back, recycling, and final disposal.”
This means that the manufacturer is responsible for properly discarding their goods after they have reached their expiration date. To avoid harming the environment, producers are more likely to collect items after they have expired and recycle them into a regular recycling process.
Since the commendable growth of technology and its adaptation in India over the last ten years, E-waste poses a vital threat to our environment now more than ever. In the last few years, the amount of electronic waste has increased at an exponential rate.
Know About The Process Of EPR Compliance?
The first thing you can decide is whether EPR applies to you whether you are a producer, importer, or brand owner who uses plastic to carry goods to market.
Steps To Fulfil The EPR Compliance
- Registration is required: If you have operations in one or two states, you must register with the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) otherwise State Pollution Control Board (SPCB). To finish the registration process, you must do the following two things:
- Submission of Form I: Form I is mandated by PWM Rules 2016. It acts as an application for registration.
- Submission of Action Plan: To introduce uniformity and resolve long-standing clarity from businesses, the CPCB has developed an EPR Action plan format. Your action plan serves as a supporting document to your registration.
- Drafting the Action Plan
- Endorsement of Action Plan
- EPR Implementation: Collecting post-consumer plastic, transporting it to processing facilities, and ensuring scientific processing and/or disposal through a pollution control board approved processor are all part of the EPR implementation process. EPR can be implemented in three ways:
- Own distribution channels
- Urban Local Body (ULB) / City engagement
- Agency engagement
- Maintenance of records and documentation: To ensure that your communication follows the requirements, you must submit quarterly reports to the CPCB. The following items are included in a quarterly report:
- Consumption of plastic raw materials (Input Plastic).
- The quantity of plastic waste produced (Output Plastic).
- Quantity of waste plastic collected and proof of collection
- Waste plastic processing quantity and proof.
Based on Your Activites Read Also: Hazardous Waste Management
