To echo and assist Hon’ble PM’s net Zero Mission on the occasion of World Recycling Day, Policy Times Chamber of Commerce, under the aegis of UN SDG in collaboration with Punjab State Pollution Control Board, Goa State Pollution Control Board, CMET, CIPET & RLG organized a Conference on ‘Role of EPR on Circular Economy & Post-Recycled Market on 21st March 2024 at India International Centre, New Delhi. More than 150+ industry leaders (including producers, brand owners, recyclers etc ) and government officials graced the occasion. Conference was also attended by Honorable High Commissioner, Kingdom of Lesotho Her Excellency Mrs. Lebohang Valentine Mochaba.
Director of HSM Division at Ministry of Environment and Forest and Climate Change Mr. Ved Prakash Mishra appreciated the great efforts being put in by the major stakeholders in circular economy i.e. recyclers, producers and brand owners. He assured the industry leaders that government of India is always there to support them with an unequivocal assurance of minimum regulation in terms of recycling and circular economy. He told the audience that government of India strives to address the concerns of recyclers on priority basis as they are the one who plays crucial role in cleaning our mother earth. He also added that EPR is going to stay for a long period to achieve the goal of Atamnirbhar Bharat in terms of circular economy.
Honorable High Commissioner, Kingdom of Lesotho Her Excellency Mrs. Lebohang Valentine Mochaba started her address with her assurance of recognizing the significance of circular economy by the Kingdom of Lesotho. She appreciated India’s contribution in waste management and invited industry leaders to explore the opportunities in Lesotho. She also reiterated Lesotho’s resolve towards laying out robust policies to expand circular economy. She reflected the potential of cooperation between India and Lesotho with her powerful concluding remark- “In the world of circular economy and sustainability, India is present and Africa is future”.
Dr. Hanif Qureshi, his video message enlightened the audience appreciating the importance of EPR in the perspective of Prime Minister’s vision of Viksit Bharat of 2047. He added that India is fully committed for the transition towards clean energy which was duly mentioned in India’s Panchamrit declaration at COP 26. Panchamrit aims to increase non fossil fuel capacity by 500 GW by 2030 and enabling the country to meet 50 percent of India’s energy requirement from renewable energy by 2030. Thus, the scope of recycling is high in the plastic sector as more than one lakh start-ups are operating in the sector. Same is the case with electronic and battery waste as well. He also highlighted lot of good works done in the EPR domain by the stakeholders dealing in plastic, tyre and electronic sectors.
Earlier, conference started with a powerful and thought provoking welcome address by Managing Director of RLG, Ms. Radhika Kalia. In her address, Ms. Kalia highlighted the reasons that makes recycling a pertinent issue to ponder upon. She enumerated the challenges faced by recyclers in the light of EPR regulations which came successively in 2016 and 2020. She also exhorted the producers to set an example in front of the consumers. She told that our consumption pattern can drastically change if our producers themselves start consuming the recycled products. Ms. Kalia also advocated the inclusive approach in the process of strengthening the circular economy with making the informal sector part of the process and appreciated the relevance of the informal economy.
Dr R. Ratheesh, Director CMET, talked about the per capita garbage in the economy. He gave the examples of Japan and Taiwan in terms of less garbage reduction. He also advocated the inclusion of carbon credit in the regulations of EPR.
Later, summary remarks were given by Mr. Paras Gupta, Director, EPR & Sustainability, GEM Environment and Dr. Sanjay P. Gandhi, Asst. VP, EHSF & Legal, Gujarat Fluorochemicals Ltd. During the session, Green Leadership Awards & Outstanding Achievers Awards were conferred by Honorable High Commissioner, Kingdom of Lesotho Her Excellency Mrs. Lebohang Valentine Mochaba and Director of HSM Division at Ministry of Environment and Forest and Climate Change Mr. Ved Prakash Mishra.
Mr. Mahesh K Patil, Chairman, Goa State Pollution Control Board, Govt. of Goa, Prof. Adarsh Pal Vig, Chairman, Punjab Pollution Control Board, Government of Punjab, Smt. S. Sreekala, Chairperson, Kerala State Pollution Control Board, Govt. of Kerala, Dr. Sameer Joshi, Vice Chairman, Governing Council, Indian Plastic Institute, Ms. Sarika Noopur Saxena, Head Business Development Green Fuels, Dalmia Cement Bharat Limited, Mr. Sanyam Jain, Co-founder, Head of Operations, Thermowaste Solutions, Mr. Nitin Chitkara, CEO, Meta Materials, Circular Markets also enlightened the audience with their valuable insights and vast experiences. Captain Satyendra Vaidya moderated the session well. His erudite comments added to the efficacy of the presentations given by the learned speakers to the maximum.