Aiming to reduce marine litter in the Indian Ocean

Context

India is one of the largest generators of plastic waste in the world. More than 3.5 million tonnes of plastic waste were produced by the country during 2019-2020. In 2019, the Indian national framework on plastic waste management was initiated with the task of implementing the extended producer responsibility (EPR) for plastic packaging. In 2022, the official EPR guidelines were published under the Plastic Waste Management (Amendment) Rules, 2022. On 1 July 2022, the Government of India announced a ban on single-use plastics (SUPs) with low utility and high littering potential.

The project aims at preventing marine litter and plastic leakages by demonstrating technological solutions to reduce, reuse and recycle plastics. It also supports EPR implementation in selected ecosystems.

Objective

Approaches for circular economy solutions that aim to prevent marine litter in selected riverine/marine ecosystems are being implemented in partnership with public and private actors.

Approach

• The project supports the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India, Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), and State Pollution Control Boards (SPCB) in enabling effective compliance of the EPR framework as part of the Plastics Waste Management Rules, 2016. Regular consultations are conducted with plastic value-chain stakeholders in the public and private sector to support implementation of the national framework on EPR as well as the SUP ban and to promote sustainable packaging and eco-design to avoid single-use plastics.
• It also provides support for digital tracking, monitoring and reporting of leakages of marine litter (focusing on plastics) in selected sites in three Indian states: Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh.
• It demonstrates technological solutions to reduce, reuse and/or recycle plastics with producers and recyclers in the three pilot states.

Last update: November 2022