The Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016 are India’s national regulations on plastic waste, issued by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change under the Environment (Protection) Act. They set out the duties of waste generators, local bodies, producers, importers, brand owners and recyclers.
The rules have been amended several times. Key provisions include the ban on identified single-use plastic items from 1 July 2022, a minimum thickness of 120 microns for plastic carry bags, and the 2022 guidelines on EPR for plastic packaging. Those guidelines define packaging categories, annual recycling targets and the mandatory use of recycled content in packaging, phased in from 2025-26. Compliance is managed through the CPCB EPR portal.
