The Indian Centre for Plastic in the Environment (ICPE) has stressed on the need for evolving rational waste management policies.

In a letter to the Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals (DCPC) and the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), the ICPE said that plastic waste rules should be framed in such a way that they are part of a well thought-out strategy to deal with solid waste management in general and packaging wastes of all kind in particular.

The ICPE also referred to the MoEF?s Plastic Waste Rule, 2010 saying there are some inadequacies in it, some of which are very serious in nature.

The centre said that there is no justification to transfer plastics into the category of hazardous substances without any scientific or logical rationale.

Also an expert committee to look into the Rule did not include any member from the real stakeholders i.e., from the industry.

The ICPE said that under the economic instruments, the fiscal instrument part in the Rule should be deleted in its present form.