The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has issued the Hazardous and Other Wastes (Management and Transboundary Movement) Amendment Rules, 2025, which shall come into effect from April 1, 2026.

Through these amendments, a new Chapter VIII titled ‘Extended Producer Responsibility for Scrap of Non-Ferrous Metals’ has been inserted into the Hazardous and Other Wastes (Management and Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2016, establishing a comprehensive regulatory framework for the environmentally sound management of non-ferrous metal scrap under the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) regime.

Key Highlights:

1. Entities Covered:
• Producers and Manufacturers of non-ferrous metal products
• Importers of used products or scrap
• Collection Agents responsible for scrap aggregation
• Refurbishers extending the life of used products
• Recyclers processing scrap into recycled metal
• Bulk Consumers using ≥1000 tons of non-ferrous products annually.
2. Registration Requirement:
• All stakeholders (producers, manufacturers, collection agent, refurbisher and recycler) must register on CPCB’s portal, without which operations will not be permitted.
• CPCB shall launch an online EPR portal for tracking, compliance, returns, and certificate trading within six months of notification.
3. EPR Obligations:
• Producers must meet annual recycling targets based on the weight of products reaching end-of-life, as outlined in Schedule XI (starting from 10% in 2026-27 to 75% by 2032-33 onwards).
• Refurbishing of products listed in Schedule-XII is allowed, with refurbishing certificates deferring EPR obligations. Upon expiry of the refurbished product’s extended life, 75% of the deferred EPR obligation is added back to the EPR target.
• Importers of used products or scrap are subject to 100% EPR obligation for the quantity imported in the preceding year.
4. EPR Certificates:
• Issued to recyclers based on actual recycling output using a conversion factor (Cf).

  QEPR = Qp × Cf,

• where Qp is the quantity of end product and Cf is a CPCB-defined conversion factor based on technology.
• EPR certificates are valid for two years from the end of the financial year in which they are issued.
• Certificates will be tradable on the CPCB’s designated online portal, with denominations ranging from 100 to 10,000 kilograms.
• EPR certificates shall have a unique number containing the year of generation, code of end product, recycler code, a unique code and validity and shall be in the denominations of 100, 200, 500, 1000 and 10,000 kilograms.
• Producers may purchase certificates to meet their EPR obligations, subject to audit and verification.
5. Use of Recycled Content:
• Manufacturers must use a specified % of domestically recycled content in new products (as per Schedule-XIII).
• For instance, aluminium-based products must contain at least 5% recycled content from 2028-29, rising to 10% by 2031-32.
• Exemptions are permitted under statutory or technical grounds with CPCB approval.
6. Roles of Regulatory Bodies
• Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS): Tasked with updating relevant product and recycling standards within six months of notification.
7. Environmental Compensation (EC)
• EC applies in cases of non-compliance, environmental damage, or false reporting/certificate generation.
• EC Refund is allowed if compliance is achieved within:
• within one year, 85% of the EC;
• within two years, 60% of the EC;
• within three years, 30% of the EC;
• after three years no refund
• Violation of provisions for three times or more shall result in permanent revocation of registration over and above the EC charges.
• Fraudulent certificate generation (>5% variance) invites revocation and non-refundable EC.
8. Steering Committee Oversight
• A multi-stakeholder Steering Committee, chaired by CPCB and comprising representatives from relevant ministries, industry, and state authorities, will oversee implementation, dispute resolution, and periodic revision of EPR targets based on technological advancements.