BBMP registers for EPR, looks to mop up crores in revenue

BSWML registers for EPR to fetch up to ₹100cr/yr. Waste-to-energy plant in Bidadi to process/recycle waste. Private lobbies had allegedly scuttled policy implementation. EPR policy first brought in 2016, brand-owners pay fee to processing units. DWCCs to collect waste & send to processing unit. BSWML to devise system to collect monthly fees from citizens.

After a long struggle, the Bengaluru Solid Waste Management Limited (BSWML), a company which is operating under the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), has finally registered for Extended Producers Responsibility (EPR). The implementation of EPR is likely to fetch revenue up to ₹ 100 crore annually. 

The BSWML has registered for EPR with the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) under which the company can now impose fees on companies for processing plastic and e-waste. The waste collected will be processed/recycled at the waste-to-energy plant at Bidadi. The plant will soon be operational in Bidadi in Ramanagara district.

The BSWML has been working to implement the policy for the last one and a half years, which was allegedly being scuttled by some private lobbies. According to a senior BSWML official, currently, EPR is being claimed by some private processing companies and the BBMP has not so far tapped into the revenue potential. Many local bodies in the Uttar Pradesh have implemented EPR and are earning revenue.

The EPR policy was first brought in the country in 2016 under Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016, according to which it is the responsibility of producers, importers and brand-owners to ensure processing of their plastic packaging waste through recycling, re-use or end of life disposal (such asco-processing/waste-to-energy/plastic to-oil/road making/industrial-composting). 

In the absence of processing units in large companies which generate plastic waste, the brand-owners hand over the waste to processing units and pay a fee. With BSWML foraying into the avenue, the Dry Waste Collection Centres (DWCC) will collect waste and send the same to the processing unit.

An official, talking to The Hindu, said while it is estimated that ₹80 to ₹100 crore can be mopped up from this venture, the solid waste management company has expenditure of collection and processing. The BSWML will only know how much profit it can make after implementing the same on the ground. This is also a first step towards making this company an independent body like Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB). After this, the company will devise a system to collect monthly fees from citizens for collecting waste from their homes, officials said.