How FMCG Businesses Can Meet EPR Plastic Waste Obligations?

An enormous amount of plastic waste, especially plastic litter from industries and organizations, leaks into the environment and creates severe environmental issues. A lack of sound plastic waste collection and treatment mechanisms further exacerbates the problem. With the growing population and surge in business and commerce, the world is expected to witness a hike in plastic production multiplefold in the upcoming years.

On average, 32% of packaging waste worldwide ends up in the environment. Countries across the globe often struggle with budget shortfalls for plastic waste management. Thus, to promote a circular economy, it is necessary to bolster investment, ensure proper collection, and manage plastic waste. This can be done by building a recycling and reuse system and implementing policies that drive the economy towards sustainable development.

Let’s understand in detail how FMCGs can increase their compliance with EPR norms and Plastic waste EPR certification benefits and challenges.

What is FMCG as per Extended Producer Responsibility?

FMCG is an acronym for Fast-Moving Consumer Goods that are quickly sellable, cheap, and high-demand products. They are also referred to as consumer packaged goods and include packaged foods, beverages, cosmetics, plastic goods, stationery, etc. FMCG companies often use flexible packaging techniques that are meant to be discarded right after their use. Plastic remains one of the most sought-after materials and thus makes these companies fall under the purview of EPR regulations.

These companies are also liable to Meet EPR Targets and Manage Plastic Waste Effectively. For this, they must adopt more sustainable packaging alternatives or easily recyclable materials, minimize their waste generation, and invest in efficient waste collection and recycling programs.

Key Strategies to Meet EPR Targets for FMCG

The circular economy is an economic model that encourages efficient use of resources by applying three important principles – Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. As a key component under the EPR framework, it helps reduce the environmental impact of plastic products, promotes the conservation of natural resources, and provides an advantage in the international market. FMCGs can leverage the benefits of these norms and fulfil their targets in the following ways:

● Optimal Usage of Plastic: FMCGs must redesign their packaging to make them easily recyclable, compostable, and reusable. They can cut down the excessive usage of plastic by adopting minimal packaging alternatives, reducing packaging size, opting for reusable plastic cups and bottles, and implementing robust systems to collect used products. By Understanding The Scope Of EPR For Plastic Packaging Waste, FMCGs can further ensure that minimal waste is generated in the production process.

● Adopt Eco-Design: Eco-design refers to the practice of designing that creates less waste, uses fewer resources, and makes the product as environmentally friendly as possible. FMCGs can adopt mono-material packaging which encases the product with a single material, enabling an easy recycling procedure.

● Invest in Infrastructure: Modernising the recycling systems and improving the processing process is important to bring greater efficiency to the process. FMCGs must develop new technologies to reduce the negative impact of their products and packaging.

These Strategic Approaches to EPR Compliance for Plastic Waste can help FMCGs build trust among their consumers by being transparent. In addition, it will also create new economic opportunities by opening global markets that prefer environment-friendly and lower carbon footprint products.

What are the Benefits of EPR Authorization?

The scope of EPR for Plastic Packaging Waste extends beyond just reuse and recycling. EPR is a promising approach for facilitating a circular economy that follows the ‘closing the loop’ system in the plastic packaging value chain. In this system, supplied raw material reaches packaging manufacturers who further ship it to packaging users (PIBOs). PIBOs transfer final goods to shops/distributors, and eventually the customers.

Normally, once the goods reach its end-of-life stage, it is discarded in an unmanaged manner. However, under the EPR Plastic Waste Obligations for Manufacturers and Importers, PIBOs take up the role of establishing a system of plastic waste collection, sorting, recycling, and proper disposal. This brings numerous benefits, such as:

● Implement Producer-Pay Principle: Polluter-pay principle advocates the idea that those who cause pollution should bear the costs of its management to prevent damage to the environment and human health. In EPR, producers become financially responsible for properly managing their plastic waste through effective collection, sorting, and recycling mechanisms.

● Boost Recycling and Material Recovery: The Importance of EPR in Reducing Plastic Waste Pollution is a remarkable one. It lays down guidelines on establishing a ‘collection system’ where producers collect and manage the waste generated by their products at the end of the lifecycle. This helps economies boost their recycling rates and channel the used plastic back into the system.

● Improved Supply Chain Management: EPR has played a pivotal role in motivating producers to inculcate designs that allow easy-to-recycle material and minimize waste at the source itself. From design to disposal, it promotes adopting practices that are more sustainable and limit the environmental footprint.

● Improve Environmental Compliance: Plastic Waste EPR Certification makes PIBOs legally liable to comply with the environmental rules and helps to minimize the generation of plastic waste. It places responsibility for managing waste on manufacturers and encourages them to design more environment-friendly products. The regulations force businesses to consider the entire lifecycle of their plastic products and not just at the point of sale which further enables environmentally conscious decisions.

● Improved Brand Reputation: The consequences for violation of EPR include both reputational damages and legal liabilities. Not only do the businesses end up paying heavy fines and penalties, but it also delivers a message that their business only revolves around profit, revenue, and expenses and is indifferent towards their environmental repercussions. Contrary to this, compliance with these norms demonstrates a commitment to sustainability and enables companies to position themselves as responsible business entities. This also attracts eco-conscious customers and creates a positive public image.

● Better Waste Management: The waste management Role of EPR in Sustainable Plastic Waste Management is discharged through a myriad of services. This includes collection points, partnerships and collaboration with PWPs and waste management companies, etc. All this helps PIBOs to meticulously recycle and dispose of their plastic, especially following environmental laws and EPR. Eventually, it leads to better waste management of the products throughout their lifecycle.

What are the Challenges in Fulfilling EPR Targets?

Fulfilling EPR targets can be a challenging task owing to the several hurdles a business faces in the process. Companies struggle to comply with diverse EPR rules and requirements and often fail to meet their obligations. Some of the common challenges are as follows.

● Lack of Awareness: EPR is a legal obligation encompassing various stakeholders and includes distinct rules and regulations for each one of them. The registration, eligibility, and target criteria also vary from entity to entity. Many of these entities fail to understand the intricate rules and do not fully comprehend the consequences of violation of the targets. This leads to inadequate implementation and planning, leading to adverse implications.

● Cost Burden: Enforcing EPR Plastic Waste Rules and Penalties is a costly affair. It necessitates companies to make investments in technology, employee training, and infrastructure, among others. The norms become quite a challenging procedure for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) who lack resources, forcing them to allocate their business funds to EPR compliance.

● Limited Infrastructure: Another notable challenge in enforcing EPR rules is the lack of adequate infrastructure for recycling and disposal. Companies struggle to find suitable recycling centres or facilities, causing improper disposal of their plastic products and hampering their ability to meet EPR targets. The complex and fragmented supply chain also makes it cumbersome to track their products at its end-of-life phase.

● Complex Regulatory Provisions: The registration and target requirements differ across regions and industries. This makes it quite complex and complicated to comprehend. Businesses that operate in several locations end up struggling with constant changes and variations in rules in respective states. Businessmen, especially the ones with limited understanding of laws, end up violating the norms unintentionally.

● Resistance to Change: One cannot deny that EPR is Shaping the Future of Plastic Waste Management. However, it is also a strategic approach that requires grassroots-level change. Resistance to change impedes FMCGs from adopting recycling practices and educating consumers to facilitate the seamless collection of plastic waste.

Final Thoughts

Among several environmental regulations, one such policy is Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), rolled out to allow producers to assume responsibility for the end-of-life treatment of their products. Obtaining EPR certification is mandatory for producers, importers, brand owners (PIBOs), and plastic waste processors (PWPs).

The EPR rules are more than just regulatory guidelines, it is an opportunity for stakeholders to drive the economy towards sustainability. Companies who acknowledge and enforce these norms are most likely to stand out from the crowd of competitors, attract environmentally conscious consumers, create a positive brand image, and strengthen their position in the market.

Why choose Legal Raasta? Our team of law experts and professionals assist in registration, evaluation, representation before concerned authorities, and support in annual filings. We will help you review and collect requisite information, documents, and plastic waste quantity details, and help in framing the action plan. Avail the services of Legal Raasta to receive the best services and streamlined Plastic waste EPR certification within a limited time frame.