Plastic in India: what EPR means, and cutting plastic at home

Plastic is everywhere in an Indian home: milk pouches, chips packets, shampoo bottles, carry bags, tiffin boxes. Some of it is useful for years. Much of it is used once and thrown away. Plastic EPR rules in India try to fix the second kind, and there is a lot each of us can do at home too.

How much plastic waste does India produce?

Indians use less plastic per person than the world average, but the total is still very large, and much of it is single-use packaging.

And recycling alone cannot keep up with it.

The single-use plastic ban

From 1 July 2022, India banned the manufacture, import, stocking, distribution, sale and use of identified single-use plastic items that have low utility and a high chance of becoming litter. These include:

• ear buds with plastic sticks, plastic sticks for balloons, plastic flags

• candy sticks and ice-cream sticks

• thermocol (polystyrene) for decoration

• plastic plates, cups, glasses, cutlery, straws and trays

• wrapping film around sweet boxes, invitation cards and cigarette packets

• plastic or PVC banners thinner than 100 microns, and stirrers

Plastic carry bags thinner than 120 microns have been banned since 31 December 2022.

What is EPR?

EPR stands for Extended Producer Responsibility. The idea is simple: whoever puts plastic packaging on the market is responsible for what happens to it afterwards.

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change notified the Guidelines on Extended Producer Responsibility for plastic packaging on 16 February 2022. They put the duty of collecting and processing plastic packaging on the producers, importers and brand owners who sell it.

For you, EPR means that the bottle or packet you throw away is supposed to be collected and processed, not dumped. But that only works if plastic reaches the system clean and separated from wet waste.

What you can do at home

Refuse what you don't need

• Carry a cloth bag. Keep one in your scooter, car and office bag.

• Say no to straws and plastic cutlery with home deliveries.

• Buy larger packs instead of many small sachets where you can.

Reuse what you have

Plastic that is already in your home is best used again and again.

• Sturdy containers, ice-cream tubs and jars are good for storage.

• Buckets, mugs and boxes last for years.

• Bottles can be refilled many times.

If you have more containers, buckets or storage boxes than you need, give them away on Trezow. Someone setting up a new home or hostel room will be glad of them.

Separate and clean before throwing

When plastic has to go, rinse it and keep it with dry waste, separate from food scraps. Clean, dry plastic is far more likely to be recycled. Your kabadiwala or a dry-waste collection centre will take many kinds of plastic.

The short version

• Refuse single-use plastic you don't need.

• Reuse sturdy plastic for as long as it lasts.

• Give away containers and storage you don't need.

• Keep plastic clean, dry and separate when you throw it.

Want to clear out the kitchen? See free kitchen items near you, or read how to declutter without creating waste.