‘No reply from e-commerce sites on petition on plastic usage’

The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has informed the National Green Tribunal (NGT) that e-commerce platforms against which a petition was filed seeking the reduction in the use of plastic for packaging purposes, have not responded to the CPCB’s communication or provided details on the usage.

In its report, the CPCB said, “The application is under process. However, complete documents regarding pan-India coverage of plastic waste management and confirmation of quantity of plastic consumption have not been submitted by [Amazon] so far.”

The report further added that e-commerce giant Flipkart had not responded to the CPCB’s communication dated March 4.

The report came following a plea moved in the green panel that contended the use of plastic for packaging purposes.

“The e-commerce companies are covered under the Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016. But due to a lack of monitoring and implementation, the respondents continue to use excessive amounts of plastic in wrapping and packaging their sold items,” the plea had said.

Earlier, apex pollution monitoring body had informed the Tribunal that the e-commerce platforms were required to establish a system for collecting the plastic waste generated due to the packaging of their products under relevant rules.