CPCB Tightens EPR Enforcement Against Plastic Waste Processors

The Central Pollution Control Board has launched one of its most extensive enforcement actions under India’s plastic waste management regime, targeting serious irregularities in the generation of Extended Producer Responsibility certificates by plastic waste processors across the country. Multiple directions issued on 25 June 2026 cover more than 200 units in nearly two dozen states, where audits have revealed fake or missing GST documentation, questionable processing practices and significant gaps in declared recycling capacity.

Audit reports show a recurring set of violations. Many units failed to upload mandatory GST einvoices, relied on handwritten or manually generated bills, or bulkuploaded sales data that could not be meaningfully verified. In numerous cases, plants registered as recyclers were found to be producing and selling plastic lumps or agglomerates instead of finished recycled granules, or operating with machinery that did not match what had been declared in their registrations, with some facilities effectively nonoperational despite continuing to generate EPR certificates.

A striking feature of the findings is the scale of discrepancy between claimed and actual processing capacity, as well as power consumption, with several units generating certificates far in excess of what their equipment and energy use could plausibly support. The audits also uncovered circular flows of material in which recycled products were sold to sister concerns or other registered recyclers, raising doubts about whether genuine recycling was taking place or whether certificates were being used to simply move waste and paperwork within the system.

In response, CPCB has outlined a structured Environmental Compensation regime, with different pertonne rates for varying categories of shortfall and noncompliance. Compensation is to be imposed where machinery is absent or unsuitable, GST einvoices cover less than 80 percent of sales, or deficits in actual processing capacity or power consumption exceed 20 percent, although limited waivers may be considered for minor discrepancies or for units that promptly rectify their GST einvoice arrangements.

The notices also underscore serious lapses by State Pollution Control Boards, many of which have not submitted the required actiontaken reports despite repeated reminders since late 2023, prompting CPCB to demand explanations and to call for accountability of officials who approved questionable physical verifications. To strengthen oversight, the EPR portal has been integrated with the Goods and Services Tax Network so that einvoices can only be uploaded after verification, even as audits show that some processors are still attempting to bypass these safeguards through nonuploading, manual invoicing and unverifiable bulk entries.