Rules for plastic waste should be applicable from 2016: State to Centre

The has raised concerns over the implementation of the draft uniform framework for extended producer responsibility (EPR) under the Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016, which has been notified by the Centre.

The state held that it should be applicable from the year 2016 and not from 2021, even as it estimated a Rs 21-crore loss to the exchequer if implementation began from 2021.
The framework, it said, should be linked to the goods and Services tax regime and should be implemented through any state government department or a special purpose vehicle (SPV) constituted by it, and not by a private agency.

It also urged the development of a national Software enabling all states to access data.
In March 2016, the Union ministry of Environment, forest and Climate-change”>Climate Change (MoEFCC) had notified the Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016, which mandated that generators of waste take steps to minimise generation of plastic waste, to not litter, to ensure segregated storage of waste at source, and to handover segregated waste to local bodies or agencies authorised by them.