Plastic EPR vs E-Waste EPR: Two Models of Extended Producer Responsibility

Extended producer responsibility (EPR) makes producers responsible for their products at the end of life. India's two most developed EPR regimes are for plastic packaging, under the Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016 and the Guidelines on EPR (2022), and for electrical and electronic equipment, under the E-Waste (Management) Rules, 2022. Both use a CPCB portal, tradable EPR certificates and environmental compensation, but they differ in who is obliged, how targets are computed, and what obligations exist beyond recycling.

1. Plastic EPR

Under the Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016, as amended in 2022 (Schedule II: Guidelines on EPR for plastic packaging), 2024 and 2026, the obliged entities are PIBOs: producers, importers and brand owners of plastic packaging (and, since 2024, manufacturers and importers of plastic raw material). Packaging is divided into four categories: I (rigid), II (flexible, single or multilayer plastic, carry bags, sachets), III (multilayered with non-plastic layers) and IV (compostable plastic sheets and carry bags). PIBOs must register on the CPCB portal and meet obligations to:

• ensure recycling of a rising share of the packaging they place on the market (for example, rigid packaging rising towards eighty per cent, flexible and multilayered towards sixty per cent);
• meet reuse obligations for rigid packaging;
• use recycled content in new packaging (under the 2026 amendment, rising for Category I from thirty to sixty per cent by 2028-29, Category II from ten to twenty, and Category III from five to ten); and
• send only non-recyclable plastic to approved end-of-life uses (road construction, waste-to-energy, waste-to-oil, co-processing).

They meet recycling obligations by buying EPR certificates generated by registered plastic waste processors. Shortfalls attract environmental compensation; fake certificates have been a major problem.

2. E-Waste EPR

Under the E-Waste (Management) Rules, 2022 (in force 1 April 2023), the obliged entities are producers of the 106 categories of EEE in Schedule I (manufacturers, brand owners and importers). Their annual EPR target is a percentage of the quantity they placed on the market in an earlier year equal to the average life of the product: 60 per cent (2023-24 and 2024-25), 70 per cent (2025-26 and 2026-27) and 80 per cent from 2027-28. They meet it by buying EPR certificates generated by registered recyclers on the basis of material actually recovered; refurbishing certificates allow deferral. The 2024 amendment fixed a price band for certificates at 30 to 100 per cent of the environmental compensation (contested in the Delhi High Court). Producers must also comply with reduction of hazardous substances (RoHS) limits. Manufacturers of solar panels must store waste panels and cells until 2034-35.

3. Key Differences

4. Common Features and Issues

Both regimes apply the polluter pays principle, operate through CPCB portals with registration, returns and audits, rely on certificate trading, impose environmental compensation that does not extinguish the obligation, and struggle with the informal sector, which handles much of the actual collection. Common problems include fraudulent certificates, weak verification of recycling capacity, and the risk that certificate markets reward paper compliance. The Environment Audit Rules, 2025 add third-party verification of EPR compliance.

5. Related Topics and Provisions