India's plastic recycling regime demands greater transparency, accountability

India's Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) framework for plastic packaging has come under scrutiny for lacking sufficient transparency in how collected waste is being processed and recycled. Producer Responsibility Organisations (PROs), which bear responsibility for managing end-of-life packaging materials, operate with limited public disclosure of their recycling rates and methodologies.

Under the existing regulations, PROs are required to achieve recycling targets ranging from 40 to 60 percent of collected packaging material. However, questions persist about how these targets are verified, what qualifies as recycled material, and whether the stated recycling rates reflect genuine environmental benefit or merely accounting mechanisms.

Stakeholders including environmental groups and industry observers have called for mandatory disclosure of detailed recycling data, including the composition of waste processed, the final destination of materials, and regular third-party audits. They argue that transparency is essential for ensuring the EPR system delivers on its environmental objectives rather than simply creating a compliance veneer.

The push for greater openness reflects broader concerns about plastic waste management across India, where rapid urbanisation has strained existing infrastructure. Advocates maintain that robust transparency requirements would enable consumers, retailers, and policymakers to assess whether the plastic regime is genuinely reducing environmental contamination or merely shifting waste management burdens.

Regulatory bodies overseeing the EPR framework face mounting pressure to strengthen disclosure requirements and enforcement mechanisms to restore credibility in India's plastic waste management architecture.