Norms brought in for large plastic companies to collect plastic products: Govt

NEW DELHI: The government has brought in norms as per which large plastic product manufaturers are expected to make attempts to get back plastic bottles and other things so that those can be recycled, the Rajya Sabha was told today.

The Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) norms have been brought because collection of plastic waste is a major challenge, HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar said while replying to questions on behalf of Environment Minister Madhav Dave who was not present in the House.

He said up to 2 million tonnes of plastic remains uncollected, according to estimates.

Javadekar said the Environment ministry is teaming up with the Road, Transport and Highways ministry so that both sides of the country's highways can be made green.

Similarly, the ministry is also teaming up with the Railway ministry to ensure that there are trees along rail tracks, he added.

He also said that a report has been prepared by the Forest Research Institute on the kind of trees which can be planted.