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Plastic has always been a crucial problem for the waste management sector in India. It is because of its durability that plastic is used in almost every product manufacturing and packaging. However, if the present rate of plastic waste is not managed then the amount of waste would be more than the number of fish in the oceans by 2050. Hence, proper management of the plastic waste management chain is required which means transition from a linear to circular economy framework because it leads to lower material needs and avoids filling up landfills. A very important inter-related concept with the circular economy is that of Extended Producer Responsibility. The idea behind this concept was to make the producers responsible to pay for the damage done to the environment because of their product. The effective management of these concepts depends on the functioning of the identified stakeholders involved in the plastic waste management chain. The basic purpose of conducting this research study is to identify the different stakeholders involved in the plastic waste management stream, understand their work by identifying relevant gaps and what can be done to channelize their functioning better by analyzing the policy framework (PWM rules) associated with them in an EPR (Extended Producer Responsibility) Framework.
Keywords: Circular Economy, Extended Producer Responsibility, Linear Economy, Stakeholders, Plastic Waste Management Rules.
