The Plastic Waste Management (Amendment) Rules, 2021 - Draft

Plastic Waste Management (Amendment) Rules, 2021 - Draft

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change on March 11, 2021 has issued Notification No. G.S.R. 169(E) heading the Draft Plastic Waste Management (Amendment) Rules, 2021 to further amend the Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016.

The following amendment has been made in Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016: -

• These Rules shall be application to every waste generator, local body, Gram Panchayat, manufacturer, Importers brand-owner, plastic waste processor (recycler, co-processor, etc.) and producer.
• In Rule 3 related to “Definition Clause”, the following clauses are inserted: -
• “Rule 3(na)” - Non-woven plastic bag - Non-woven plastic bag is made up of sheet or web structured fabric of entangled fibers or filaments (and by perforating films) bonded together by mechanical or thermal or chemical means. The Non-woven fabric is a flat or tufted porous sheet that is made directly from fibers, molten plastic, or plastic films.
• “Rule 3(qa)” - Plastic Waste Processing - means any process by which plastic waste is handled for the purpose of reuse, recycling, co-processing, or transformation into new products.
• “Rule 3(va)” - Single-use plastic item - is a plastic commodity intended to be used once for the same purpose before being dispose of or recycled.
• “Rule 3(vb)” - Thermoset plastic - is a plastic which becomes irreversibly rigid when heated, and hence cannot be remoulded into desired shape
• “Rule 3(vc)” - Thermoplastic – is a plastic which softens on heating and can be moulded into desired shape.
• Rule 4(1)(c) and (h) which specify “Conditions” stating that the manufacture, importer stocking, distribution, sale and use of carry bags, plastic sheets or like, or cover made of plastic sheet and multilayered packaging, shall be subject to the following conditions, namely:-
• Carry bag made of virgin or recycled plastic, shall not be less than 120 microns in thickness;
• The provision of thickness shall not be applicable to carry bags commodities made up of compostable plastic. Carry bags made from compostable plastics shall conform to the Indian Standard: IS 17088:2008 titled as Specifications for Compostable Plastics, as amended from time to time. The manufacturers or seller of compostable plastic carry bags and/or commodities shall obtain a certificate from the Central Pollution Control Board before marketing or selling.

A new clause (j) has been inserted in Rule 4(1), namely:-

“Each sheet of non-woven plastic carry bag shall not be less than 60 (GSM per square meter) or 240 microns in thickness with effect from September 30, 2021.”

A new sub-rule 4(2) and (3) are inserted: -

“(2) The manufacture, import, stocking, distribution, sale and use of following single-use plastic commodities shall be prohibited from January 1, 2022. 

Ear buds with plastic sticks, plastic sticks for balloons, plastic flags, candy sticks, ice-cream sticks, polystyrene [Thermocol] for decoration. 

(3) the manufacture, import, stocking, distribution, sale and use of following single-use plastic commodities shall be prohibited from July 1, 2022. Single-use plastic (including polystyrene and expanded polystyrene) items: plates, cups, glasses, cutlery such as forks, spoons, knives, straw, trays, wrapping/packing films around sweet boxes; invitation cards; and cigarette packets, plastic/PVC banners less than 100 micron, stirrers the above provision shall not apply to commodities (including carry bags) made of compostable plastic material.”

A new sub-clause (al) has been inserted under Rule 6(2) and Rule 7(1) related to “Responsibility of local body and Gram Panchayat”, namely:-

“Ensuring that provisions pertaining to restrictions or prohibition on single-use plastics are adhered to.”

In Rule 11(1) related to “Marking or Labelling”, each plastic carry bag, plastic packaging and multilayered packaging shall have the following information printed in English namely: -

a. name, registration number of the producer or brand-owner and thickness in case of carry bag, plastic packaging used by the brand owner.

b. name and registration number of the manufacturer in case of multilayered packaging (excluding multilayered packaging used for imported goods).

c. name and certificate number of producers in case of carry bags made from compostable plastic.

All persons likely to be affected with the draft of the rules are invited for objections and suggestions, if any, within a period of 60 days. 

The objection and suggestions may be addressed to the Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change, Indira Paryavaran Bhawan, Jor Bagh Road, Aliganj, New Delhi-110003 or electronically at email address: satyendra.kumar07@nic.in, amit.love@nic.in