India tightens plastic waste rules with QR codes, recycled content mandates

India is moving beyond public campaigns to combat plastic waste, now enforcing strict statutory mandates on corporate accountability. The Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) framework legally obligates producers, importers and brand owners to manage end-of-life recovery of their packaging, shifting financial burden from municipalities to corporations.

To curb phantom compliance, the Plastic Waste Management (Amendment) Rules 2025, effective 1 July 2025, mandate that all commercial plastic packaging carry scannable QR codes linked to a central portal. This ensures supply-chain transparency and allows statutory auditors to verify recycling claims.

Further amendments in 2026 enforce material quotas: rigid plastic packaging must contain 30 percent recycled content by 2025-26, scaling to 60 percent by 2028-29. The rules also formally authorise industrial energy recovery for unrecyclable multilayered plastics, broadening legal disposal options.