An EPR certificate is the official proof that a given quantity of plastic packaging waste has been recycled or otherwise processed. In India, certificates are generated on the CPCB EPR portal by registered plastic waste processors, based on the quantities they have actually handled.
Producers, importers and brand owners buy these certificates to meet their EPR targets, which is why they are commonly called plastic credits. Certificates are issued by packaging category, for example rigid, flexible and multilayer plastic, and by processing route. For a brand, the value of a certificate depends on the recycler behind it: real collection, real recycling and traceability that stands up to an audit.
