Dr. Sanjay Joshi

The new plastic waste management norms favour ease of doing business but raise concerns over environmental degradation and public health. In my last article, I discussed the Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016. These rules have undergone several amendments from time to time in order to address emerging concerns and practical challenges. In this article, we will learn about these amendments and the reasons behind them. Soon after their implementation in 2016, the Plastic Waste Management...

Extended Producer Responsibility brought producers into the waste chain—not as bystanders, but as accountable actors. In my last article, I traced the rise of plastics in India — from the early growth of the industry to the explosion of single-use plastics in the 1990s that created mounting environmental concerns. I also looked at how the government began responding through the first plastic waste regulations in 1999 and the stricter rules introduced in 2011. However, those early regulations...

Have bans, rules and waste systems really been enough to tackle plastic waste? The Indian plastics industry began in 1957 with the state-owned Indian Petrochemicals. By 1979, the sector had taken firmer shape. Use of plastics in India became increasingly common over the decades and grew sharply in popularity in the 1990s. Single-use plastic entered the market and soon became a widely sought-after material for households and businesses alike. Plastic consumption had already been growing since...