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India’s environment ministry has amended its plastic waste management rules to require producers, importers and brand owners to include a higher minimum share of recycled content in rigid plastic packaging, including food-contact items such as PET water bottles.
Under the Plastic Waste Management (Amendment) Rules, 2026, which were published in the Gazette of India on 31 March and came into force on the same day, this quota will increase by ten percentage points each year to reach 60% by 2028 onwards.
The rules establish mandatory use of recycled plastic across three categories of plastic packaging:
Plastic packaging category |
2025-26 |
2026-27 |
2027-28 |
2028-onwards |
|
Rigid plastic packaging |
30% |
40% |
50% |
60% |
|
Flexible plastic packaging |
10% |
10% |
20% |
20% |
|
Multi-layered plastic packaging |
5% |
5% |
10% |
10% |
The amendment also clarifies that if a company does not meet the target in a given year, it can make up the shortfall within three years, rather than being considered immediately non-compliant.
However, they must address at least one‑third of the gap each year and cannot defer compliance until the final year. This arrangement was outlined in a draft notification issued by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) on 3 June last year.
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