The North News
Chandigarh, November 11
In a major step to tighten environmental accountability, the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) has summoned 14 leading brands identified as the state’s largest contributors of hard-to-recycle plastic waste. The companies have been directed to submit clear, time-bound action plans detailing how they will incentivise consumers to return used plastic packaging and reduce their waste footprint.
PPCB Chairperson Reena Gupta said, “No company will be allowed to pollute Punjab. We will fix accountability and clean up all our cities.”
The move follows a landmark Plastic Waste Brand Audit 2025 — the first such study in India — conducted by the PPCB across six cities: Amritsar, Bathinda, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Mohali, and Patiala. The audit analysed waste from diverse urban zones to identify the brands most responsible for plastic pollution.
Of the 6,991 kg of municipal waste examined, 613 kg was plastic, with 88% found to be hard-to-recycle. The study’s brand-wise analysis of 11,810 discarded plastic packets revealed that just 14 major companies accounted for nearly 59% of the state’s non-recyclable waste.
The PPCB noted that some companies continue to meet their Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) targets through unverifiable certificates or by shifting waste management responsibilities to other states — practices that worsen Punjab’s pollution crisis rather than address it.
Gupta added that the Board would intensify monitoring and enforcement while working with industries to transition Punjab toward a circular, plastic-responsible economy.
