The importance of enabling circular economy has been a subject of discussion for years now. The country has introduced laws to manage and limit the waste created, also known as EPR or Extended Producer Responsibility. Besides enacting laws to limit and tackle the growing quantum of waste, it is crucial for countries to encourage a better adoption of circular economy across the value chain. However, the 62 million tonnes of solid waste generated in India every year clearly proves that the right implementation of circular economy or EPR is somewhere missing.
In a recently hosted webinar by Karo Sambhav in collaboration with GIZ India, the challenges barring the successful implementation of EPR were narrated extensively. The webinar witnessed participation by a profound group of panellists from the high ranks of the industry and government bodies. Before we share the limelight on the minutes of the webinar, let us first clear the air around EPR.
So, what is EPR, and why is it important?
EPR is Extended Producer Responsibility or a well-thought environmental policy, obligating producers, importers, and brand owners (PIBOs) to collect, channel, reuse, and recycle end-of-life products. It is not unknown that waste, be it plastic, e-waste, batteries, glass, or solid waste, is a critical problem of the present time. It is plaguing the landfills, worsening environmental crises such as global warming and an alarming carbon footprint, and endangering human lives. Although recycling has been advocated as a solution to curb the growing volumes of waste, the lack of infrastructure and awareness in people limits the implementation of the process.
What crops up next as a strategic endeavour to manage waste is circular economy and sustainability. Circular economy, unlike recycling, is all about looking at and treating waste as a rich source of resources. The redefined economic system advocates individuals, importers, manufacturers, and business owners to collect products that reach the end of life, dismantle and segregate the materials in a product in a controlled and sustainable fashion, refurbish the extracted materials for further use, and recycle to keep the use and value of materials longer in the loop.
EPR, a government-backed environmental policy, was introduced to ensure maximum implementation of circular economy across the society. Although the legal policy is mandatory for the PIBOs, numerous actors are still struggling to understand the purpose and ways to enact the laws seamlessly. The hurdles in the execution of EPR have been rightly addressed at the webinar conducted by Karo Sambhav.
Circular Economy – The Challenges and Solutions
The webinar commenced with an introduction of the panellists and a brief talk about how it is important for the stakeholders to act, undertake accountability, and develop the required skills from policymakers to exercise EPR. Dr Rachna Arora from GIZ India kicked off the session by addressing the issues in the progress of circular economy and sustainability in India. She stated that while it is great to experience the rapid implementation of circular economy in the country, the challenges involving capacity building and the shortfall of technology continue to exist. Besides, it is critical to realize that waste continues to be majorly managed by the informal actors in the value chain. Therefore, it is no way possible to eliminate the works of the informal sector when managing waste. However, what’s possible though, is to upgrade the working conditions and formal training of the informal workers. She also addressed the following:
Vital and finite resources continue to remain as waste
Also, the economic value of acquiring, channeling, and recycling the waste is steep and higher than the value of the products themselves. Of course, this appears as a disincentive and as a financial challenge for the recyclers.
Dr Arora also suggested that in order to improve the adoption of EPR regulation in the different strata of society, it is critical to introduce, promote, and explain the importance of an eco-friendly design framework. What’s more, policymakers should actively instruct manufacturers with guidelines for sustainable product designs and ways to maximize the longevity of products. She also went on to say that, unfortunately, India lacks the needed infrastructure to support eco-friendly product design and hence, puts the manufacturing in question.
The panellist also elaborated on the anticipated launch of a park to store and gather all end-of-life electronic products. This initiative by the Delhi government, as promising as it sounds, also puts a big question on the efficiency of recycling measures. She further explained that the non-availability of a state-wide inventory or data could contribute to the failure of the business model. Recyclers or business people might not find the park a lucrative scope for investment. Hence, not only is the integration of technology and data significant in increasing a wider adoption of EPR, but introducing strong enforcement measures is just as crucial.
A keynote address by another esteemed panellist preceded Dr Arora. He went on to speak about the importance of establishing EPR in the course of businesses today. He explained that circular economy is much needed to preserve the remaining quantum of the finite and limited resources on earth. It is not unknown that electronic gadgets have a very short serving span today. Consumers mindlessly toss out the products, creating more waste. Besides, this also amplifies the demand for mining new resources for products.
Another great problem that the panellist spoke about was that creating policies and frameworks was easy. However, the struggle pops up while implementing the laws. Also, a majority of businesses and importers have little to no idea about what EPR or circular economy principles truly mean. In fact, the terms appear more like jargon, restricting businesses from executing the EPR norms to the maximum. Hence, he clearly concluded that improving the understanding and awareness around circular economy and EPR is extremely vital to ensure the successful implementation of the environmental policy or EPR. If not, the crude way of recycling and repurposing materials will continue, endangering human health and the environment.
The webinar brought the leaders of environmental sustainability together. From increasing awareness amongst the players to working on building capacity or an authorized workforce to handle waste the right way, the webinar was a valuable experience.
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