Lok Sabha Question No. 443 (STARRED), answered on 2023-04-03
Subject: Alternative Products and Technologies to Plastics and their Applications
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: Kotagiri Sridhar

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION No. 443

TO BE ANSWERED ON 03.04.2023

## Alternative Products and Technologies to Plastics and their Applications

## *443.   SHRI SRIDHAR KOTAGIRI:

Will the Minister of ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  Government  intends  to  implement  recommendations  made  under  the Report titled 'Alternative Products and Technologies to Plastics and their Applications'  published  by  the  NITI  Aayog  to  provide  for  waste  minimisation through extended producer responsibility, labelling and collection of compostable and biodegradable plastics;
- (b) if so, the details thereof along with the progress made in this regard;
- (c) if not, the reasons therefor;
- (d) whether the Government has taken any other steps towards plastic waste minimisation; and
- (e) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER FOR ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE (SHRI BHUPENDER YADAV)

- (a) to (e): A statement is laid on the Table of the House.

****

## Statement  referred  to  in  reply  to  parts  (a)  to  (e)  of  Lok  Sabha  Starred Question  No.  443  to  be  answered  on  3 rd April,  2023  on  'Alternative Products  and  Technologies  to  Plastics  and  their  Applications'  by  Shri Sridhar Kotagiri, Hon'ble Member of Parliament.

(a) to (e): NITI Aayog had brought out a report on 'Alternative products and technologies to plastics and their applications'. The report inter alia provided recommendations  with  respect to  strengthening  waste  minimization  through  extended producer  responsibility,  proper  labelling  and  collection  of  compostable  and  biodegradable plastics,  updation of Standards and increasing transparency in the process and encouraging R&D and incentivizing the manufacturing sector.

The  Ministry  of  Environment,  Forest  and  Climate  Change  has  already  notified  the Guidelines  on  Extended  Producer  Responsibility  (EPR)  for  plastic  packaging  vide  Plastic Waste  Management  (Amendment)  Rules,  2022,  on  16th  February  2022.    The  Guidelines stipulate  mandatory  targets  on  EPR,  recycling  of  plastic  packaging  waste,  reuse  of  rigid plastic  packaging  and  use  of  recycled  plastic  content.  The  guidelines  provide  for  moving towards sustainable plastic packaging and reducing the plastic foot print. The implementation of ban on identified single use plastic items coupled with extended producer responsibility on plastic packaging will reduce pollution caused by littered and unmanaged plastic waste and waste minimization.

As  part  of  transparency  measures  details  of  6792  Producers,  Importers  and  Brand Owners and also 1759 plastic waste processors registered on the Centralized Online Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Portal on Plastic Packaging is available on the dashboard of EPR  portal.    The  registered  PIBOs  cover  around  2.39  Million  Tons  of  plastic  packaging under  Extended  Producer  Responsibility  for  the  year  2022-23.Plastic  packaging  made  of compostable plastics is covered under EPR Guidelines.

Vide Plastic Waste Management (Second Amendment) Rules, 2022, notified on 6 th July 2022, the standards covered under Schedule I of the Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016  have  been  updated  to  their  most  recent  versions.  Also,  provision  has  made  for  the tentative  standard  IS:17899  T:  2022  notified  by  Bureau  of  Indian  Standards  for  the 'Assessment  of  Biodegradability  of  Plastics  in  Varied  Conditions'.  Testing  facilities  for compostable plastics have been set up at 11 laboratories of Central Institute of Petrochemical Engineering  and  Technology  (CIPET).  Testing  facilities  for  biodegradable  plastics  in accordance with IS 17899 T: 2022 have also been set up at CIPET centres.

The  Department  of  Science  and  Technology  and  Department  of  Biotechnology support research and development projects for alternatives to banned single-use plastic items, as per scheme guidelines. The School of Advanced Research in Petrochemicals (SARP),CIPET are working on eco-friendly alternatives to banned single use plastic items. The Ministry of Micro,  Small  and  Medium Enterprises  has  schemes  to  provide support  to MSME  units,  which  include  support to such units  which  were earlier involved in manufacturing of banned single use plastic  items  for switching  over  to  alternatives  /  other products.  Further,  to  encourage  innovation  in  development  of  alternatives  to  banned identified  single  use  plastic  items  and  digital  solutions  to  plastic  waste  management,  the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change organized an India Plastic Challenge Hackathon 2021, for students of higher education institutions and start-ups.

A  National  Expo  on  eco-alternatives  to  banned  single  use  plastics  items  and Conference  of  Startups  -  2022  was  organized  jointly  with  Government  of  Tamil  Nadu  in Chennai  on  26-27th  September  2022  to  raise  awareness  on  alternatives.  More  than  150 manufacturers of eco-alternatives from across the country are participating in the Expo. The Eco-alternatives were made from coir, bagasse, rice and wheat bran, plant and agricultural residue, banana and areca leaves, jute and cloth. Awareness generation and capacity building programmes  have  been  organized  for  elimination  of  single  use  plastics  for  plastic  waste minimization.

***