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Plastic Waste Management in India

What is plastic waste?

Plastic waste is the accumulation of plastic materials that affects the environmental stability, nature, wildlife, human life, etc. It also includes the significant amount of plastic material that ends up in the landfills. The non recycled plastic enters the environment, polluting our water bodies and causing an effect on the environment as well.

What is plastic waste management (PWM)?

Plastic waste management is the activity undertaken to reduce the initial amount of plastic waste that is produced and with the help of circular economy and other disposing solutions. It ensures less plastic waste by recycling the waste plastic into reusable products. 

Types of plastic waste

There are 7 different types of plastic each with their own identification. Most of the plastics have the recycle icon with a number from 1-7 printed in between. These numbers relate to the type of plastic it is. Below are the 7 types of Plastic:

  1. PETE: Polyethylene Terephthalate
  2. HDPE: High-Density Polyethylene
  3. PVC: Polyvinyl Chloride
  4. LDPE: Low-Density Polyethylene
  5. PP: Polypropylene
  6. PS: Polystyrene
  7. OTHER.

What do these 7 types include?

  1. PETE: Soft drink bottles, water bottles, cold drink bottles, cooking oil packing
  2. HDPE: Milk jugs, detergents, bleaching agents, shampoo bottles, washing and shower soap covers
  3. PVC: Foil wraps, fruit packings, trays, etc
  4. LDPE: Crushed bottles, shopping bags, wrappings for snacks and other eatables
  5. PP: Furniture, luggage, toys as well as bumpers, etc.
  6. PS: Toys, hard packing, refrigerator trays, cd cases, vending cups, etc
  7. Other: Other plastic materials including acrylic, polycarbonate, polylactic fibers, Nylon, Fiberglass, etc.

Why is plastic waste management necessary?

Plastic is the most commonly used material all around. Almost all of the product packing and daily used things are made of plastic. With such enormous use, the plastic waste is increasing day by day. If this waste is not managed properly, it has a lot of ill effects on the environment and as well as human health. 

Effects of plastic waste?

Despite having a lot of useful advantages of plastic, it has an impact on the environment. 

  • Plastic, when burned, emits toxic gas in the atmosphere which then leads to an increase in various diseases such as respiratory problems, birth defects, and other health problems.
  • Plastic affects the water quality when it is entered on streams, lakes or rivers and also makes the drinking water toxic. This attracts a lot of mosquitos and sickness/diseases.
  • Plastic is a long lasting material. It stays in the environment almost forever. It breaks into pieces as time passes by and does not decompose. Hence plastic can be only recycled to use further and this is the only way to get rid of plastic waste from the environment.
  • Plastic Destroys food chains in wildlife because plastic is sometimes swallowed by animals and it chokes the wind and food pipes of these animals. 

(pointers for creatives – Health effects, water contamination, environmental effect, hazardous for wildlife)

How to manage plastic waste?

Circular Economy

Circular economy is a good way for maintaining Sustainable Plastic Waste Management. It ensures the full use of the material. In a circular economy, the use of the resources is maintained for as long as possible, with extracting the maximum value of the material and then recovering and regenerating the value of the material at the end of its life.

This Circular Economy helps in creating a better Eco-friendly and Environment Sustainable Economy for any country. When the materials reach their End-of-life period they are recycled and can be reused for a longer period.

EPR Registration for plastic waste management

Extended producer responsibility, refers to the responsibility for the management of the disposal of plastic products by producers once those products are designated as no longer useful by consumers. The main objective of EPR is to develop an effective and efficient system that takes care of the collection, segregation, and transportation of the material to the waste disposal facility which is approved by the MPCB and CPCB as a PRO Agency.

EPR Registration and Compliance process

  • Process starts with registration at CPCB/SPCB
  • Next step starts with the role of authorized waste management agency to collect back agreed volume of post consumer plastic waste in a period of 1 year
  • Waste collection agency will present relevant documents for proof of waste collection activity
  • PIBOM’s agency will submit a quarterly report to CPCB.
  • After completion of activity final report will be submitted by agency to PIBOM’s

For More information on EPR Registration online visit here, (EPR Registration – LInk for our epr page)

Conclusion:

Hence in order to manage plastic waste there are various awareness campaigns necessary to educate the illiterate and the society. Plastic waste is not only hazardous for the environment but also for human life and wildlife. 

There are certain Plastic Waste Management Rules or PWM Rules made by the Government. Companies, producers or brand owners can register for EPR Certificate online which makes it easier for collection, segregation and recycling of waste plastic materials.