Unpacking EPR for Plastic Packaging in India

October 29, 2024

In the face of the looming plastic waste crisis, Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) has emerged as a globally recognized policy principle. This legislation requires producers to take responsibility for their packaging, including its collection and recycling.

A robust EPR system not only promotes recycling but also has the potential to drive design changes and transition to reuse and reduction of plastics. EPR has been defined as a policy principle that holds producers accountable for the entire lifecycle of their products, particularly for the take-back, recycling, and final disposal. The key idea is to motivate producers to design products that are environmentally friendly, by making them responsible for the post-consumer phase of the product.

CSE has sought to understand the dynamics of established stakeholders involved in EPR to clarify the governing realities of evolving plastic waste management rules in one of the world’s most diverse countries. This report interrogates what is really happening in the EPR ecosystem—are polluters being genuinely held accountable for their actions, or is EPR being used to simply shift the burden of responsibility from the polluters?