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EPR recycled-content mandates
What it is
Plastic Waste Management Rules require minimum recycled content in packaging, rising annually - rigid plastic from 30% in FY26 to 40% in FY27 and 60% by FY29, flexible films starting at 10% and multi-layered at 5%. Food-contact PET must meet the same schedule under FSSAI rules and IS 14534:2023
Shortfalls carry forward up to three years, and end-of-life disposal certificates cannot offset recycling obligations
Impact on industries
- Converts recycling from voluntary sustainability into a mandatory input specification, creating guaranteed demand for recycled resin
- India already has 17 FSSAI-approved food-grade rPET plants at ~3.56 lakh tonnes, with capacity heading toward ~7.5 lakh tonnes by Mar 2027
- Recycled resin costs more than virgin and quality is variable, so converters absorb cost or pass it to brand owners in a price-sensitive market
- Flexible and multi-layered structures are hard to recycle so their targets start lower, and compliance now runs on digital monitoring and verified recyclers