This document on the Ministry of Environment and Forests site includes the Plastic Waste (Management and Handling) Rules replaces the earlier Recycled Plastics Manufacture and Usage Rules,1999 (amended in 2003). These Rules have been brought out following detailed discussions and consultations with a wide spectrum of stakeholders including civil society, industry bodies, relevant Central Government Ministries and State Governments.
Some of the salient features of the new Rules are ban on use of plastic materials in sachets for storing, packing or selling gutkha, tobacco and pan masala, no food stuffs will be allowed to be packet in recycled plastics or compostable plastics, recycled carry bags to have specific BIS standards, colour to the prescription by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), uniform thickness shall not be less than 40 microns in carry bags etc.
One of the major provisions under the new Rules is the explicit recognition of the role of waste pickers. The new Rules require the municipal authority to constructively engage agencies or groups working in waste management including these waste pickers. This is the very first time that such a special dispensation has been made.
The Municipal authority ishas been given the responsibility for setting up, operationalisation and coordination of the waste management system and for performing the associated functions.
The document is divided into the following sections:
- The short title and commencement
- Application
- Definitions of the terms used in the Rules
- Prescribed authority
- Conditions
- Plastic waste management
- Protocols for compostable plastic materials
- Marking or labelling
- Registration of manufacturers and recyclers
- Explicit pricing of carry bags
- State level advisory body
- Annual reports
A copy of the document and the hindi version of the document can be downloaded from below: