PCB to reward people for returning plastic bags to producing companies

Kolkata: In a significant stride towards curbing the use of plastic, the West Bengal Pollution Control Board (WBPCB) is working on a scheme to reward people who will return plastic bags to the producing companies.

If the Board succeeds in its endeavour, Bengal will be the first state in the country to implement this. The concept of Extended Producers' Responsibility (EPR) has been included in the Plastic Waste Management Rules 2016 notified by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.

According to EPR, it is the responsibility of brand owners or manufacturers to take environmental responsibility for their products and the associated packaging when they become waste. So they have to take back the plastic that is put in use and recycle them for gainful use. "We are trying to implement a systematic process so that manufacturers can collect plastic from consumers. The registration of the manufacturing companies are going on in full swing," said Rajesh Kumar, Member Secretary of WBPCB. A big part of EPR also involves engaging and encouraging the public to take responsible action with regard to an organisation's products.

Elaborating on the process, a senior scientist of WBPCB said that every packaged product has a packaging value that is charged from the consumers along with the cost of the product in that particular packet.

"We will make the manufacturer write the cost of packaging on the packets. The customers will be given back that packaging cost if he/ she returns the packet back to the manufacturer. Some states have informally started this process. But we are trying to implement it systematically in the government level," he maintained.

The state Municipal Affairs department is experimenting with two substitutes as an alternative to plastic to curb its indiscriminate use as it is one of the major cause of pollution in the city and its adjoining areas.

"We are presently experimenting with PLA (polylactic acid) and starch-based bags to assess whether bags made of one of these two pieces of stuff can be used as an alternative. PLA is compostable and as it goes into the soil it degrades within three months time and leaves no residue," a senior official in the department said.